Blood Stains
by WolfoftheMoonStorm
Summary: Until he met them, life was simple. Not great- but simple. All he had to do was stay anonymous until his town was safe again. Then his past met his future and he suddenly had more people to protect. (OR) When his life falls apart, Danny hides away in Jump. Little does he know that it's not quite that easy to escape one's past.
1. The Days Life Started Its Downhill Roll

**Summary:** Until he met them, life was simple. Not great- but simple. All he had to do was stay anonymous until his town was safe again. Then his past met his future and he suddenly had more people to protect.

 **Blanket Disclaimer:** I do not own _Danny Phantom_ or _Teen Titans_.

 **Warnings:** This story is AU and a crossover. This story includes: Adopted!Danny, Danny/Dani-Father/Daughter, Younger!Dani, Older!Titans, and character death. No _Phantom Planet_.

 **Notes:** In canon, Danny is 16 and (probably) in his junior year at the end of the series. In this story, _D-Stabilized_ takes place at the end of his sophomore year when Danny is 15. (I am just assuming he has a summer birthday.) I will have the Titans' ages at the bottom, because there's some speculation there. Also, when I say "older", I mean that the youngest is 19. They're just referred to as the "Titans" rather than the "Teen Titans". Sorry if that bothers you. For the _Teen Titans Series_ , "Birthmark", "The Prophecy", and "The End (Parts 1, 2, and 3)" take place between "Spellbound" and "Revolution". An undefined amount of time passes and this story begins shortly before "Revolution" takes place and follows the canon from there.

 **Secondary Note:** Those of you who are reading my _Danny Phantom_ story _Breath of Life_ may notice similarities between the ways ghosts "work" in this story. As of now, the only 'spoiler' is one of the powers Danny will eventually get. Oh, and no, I'm not doing every _Teen Titans_ episode that occurs after "Revolution". Geez, that's what, three seasons with thirteen episodes each, minus the five I skip by having this story begin after "Spellbound" and taking out another five with the Trigon-related episodes… so, 29 episodes? Nope. You watched the series. I highly doubt you want to read it. I'll try to do quite a few, but I'm actually changing how the episodes go unlike how some people just toss in the extra character, but follow the script to the letter. No problem with that, honestly, it just makes the extra character seem, er, useless, too me. But don't panic. Not every episode is completely altered. One more person can make a difference, but Danny's not going to magically make their lives' easier. In some episodes, the situation will render him unable to do much and in others, he'll be able to do quite a bit. Plus, there's more plot to this than just him hanging out with the Titans. Amity will certainly be making a return.

Bloodstains– Chapter I  
 _The Days Life Started Its Downhill Roll_

 _It's cold…_

His breath was crystalizing in the air in front of him, but for once it was only because of the freezing air around him. Rain poured down from above, soaking through his blue hoodie, and the small drops looked moment from turning to ice. His steps slowed to a halt and ice blue eyes blinked with every drop of water that landed on the lashes around them. He smiled slightly, the act bittersweet, and held out one hand. The rain drops splashed off of his palm. The chill they left stung.

 _It's nice._

Raven-black hair stuck to the sides of his head and snatched at his face. He moved his hand to reach up and push the wet mess out of the way once more, breath billowing in a sigh. The ground crunched under foot despite his best efforts to stay silent. Mud splashed and sucked and slopped every which way and the trees around him quivered and leaned in the wind. He sighed again and touched the white band on his wrist to reassure himself that it was still there.

 _I've got time. I'll find some place to go._

The ends of his pants were covered in sticky mud and the rain soaked everything else black. For once, he was grateful. He didn't want to see what was underneath those colors. He wedged his foot out from the greedy mud once more and trudged forward. A cut underneath his eye was bleeding and the cold stung at it with each drop of rain. He breathed evenly in and out, focusing on the clarity of his mind. It had been a long, long time since he'd ever felt like this: free. No more responsibilities or citizens to protect. No more battles and scars and midnight hours spent hastily bandaging a bleeding wound just to do it all over again.

 _It's empty._

He had no purpose. He needed a purpose. There were no more bright-eyed children squealing out "thank-you"s and no more towers to sit upon and muse. There would be no more pictures and posters and feelings of warmth. Of appreciation. Of gratitude. Of loyalty. Of love.

 _It's lonely._

They were so far away now. Unreachable. He couldn't _want_ to reach them. He had to stay away. He had to go. He had to put one foot in front of the other- _right foot, left foot_ \- and keep his head down- _breathe in, breathe out_ \- and just… disappear.

 _Growling. There's growling._

His blue gaze turned to the brush and his fingers brushed once more over the white band on his wrist. His pulse was racing, muscles tense, joints ready, senses straining…

 _No._

He had to run.

* * *

Danny sighed and leaned back in his chair gratefully. He felt tired. The day had been far longer than it had needed to be, but he had finally finished all of his work. The books and games had been sorted, the lounge cleaned up, the store locked, and he had been able to head upstairs and relax. The halfa yawned and rubbed his palm over one of his eyes to soothe the dull ache. He couldn't sleep quite yet.

He leaned his head back to rest on the top of his comfortable chair and just stared at the ceiling blankly. The living room was a warm, rich dark caramel in color, but the ceiling was plain white. The sofa matched, there was one TV, and the kitchen was only separated by a rounded counter. Some sunlight streamed in past the drapes on the windows, but that was about as far as any decoration got. It wasn't all together bad, but it looked more like a rented apartment than a home.

 _Then again, I suppose that's pretty accurate._

Danny narrowed his eyes at the thought, the neon green hue in the back of them burning brighter with his flash of temper. Shaking his head, Danny ran a hand through his hair; further mussing it. He'd let it grow out some after he'd left Amity. Not too long, though. The longest strands just barely reached the middle-end of his neck. His bangs, however, were shorter. He'd gotten tired of long strands constantly blocking his vision. He could still see a few when they swung into his face (too short and they'd stick up like porcupine quills), but it was far more manageable and less irritating.

After he'd gone through what he officially dubbed "ghost puberty", which was basically the most painful week and a half of his life, he'd grown a few inches and his two halves had melded some. His eyes in human form had a green hue in the back and his hair had white streaks. In ghost mode, it was reversed. The next thing he'd taken care of was clothes. His lifestyle had… changed… and the physical change had forced him to wake up and realize that. The change of style had been a symbolic wake-up call. He'd taken to wearing sturdy, dark-blue, blue jeans, a red short-sleeved shirt, a plain white jacket, and red and white converse. He also wore a chain looped through his belt loops- a gift of Frostbite's. It stored an entire arsenal powered by his own ecto-energy. All he had to do was focus on the certain weapon and presto! Weapons whenever he needed them. Around his neck sat a silver oval-shaped locket with his symbol engraved on the front.

A flicker of white brought Danny out of his bored reflections and he looked over at his "front door" to see a white tiger casually strolling through it. A fond smile briefly crossed his expression. Págos was his Bonded. It wasn't uncommon for a lower-level ghost to bind itself to a willing higher-level, like the Fright Knight and his Nightmare Pegasus. Págos was usually nine and a half feet tall with the usual ghostly white cloak of ecto-energy; he also had sea green eyes and literally left paw prints of ice if he was actively using his power. If not, it was a fast-melting layer of frost. Thankfully, the ghostly tiger had a helpful, loose chain around his neck with a tag on it. Danny worked that one out with Frostbite's help. The chain reduced Págos to a normal size and hid his ecto-signature and energy, but he could still use his powers to an extent. The tag was for the city's sake, since his Bonded generally refused to leave his side for longer than thirty minutes. A few overshadowings, a lot of obedience tests, and far too much paperwork later, and Danny had managed to get Págos the right to walk around the city- wherever in the city- with him. The front of the tag had his name and ID as well as Danny's residence and all of the usual pet necessities and the back had his symbol on it; both a claim and a warning to other ghosts not to harm Págos unless they wanted to bring Danny's wrath down on their heads. It was odd how protective of each other they'd become.

" _Ibi es."_ Danny greeted, the Latin flowing smoothly off his tongue. The massive white tiger leapt across the room to bowl into his chair and sit half in his lap, half on the floor. Págos chuffed and nudged his head under Danny's hand, who scratched him obligingly.

Págos rumbled contently. _A little to the left- oh, there! Ahhhhhh, that's better. Stupid itch._ The tiger's voice echoed slightly in his head. He angled himself so he was leaning up against the chair and half-lying on his side while Danny reached forward to scratch and pet wherever he could reach. _**That**_ _is hea-ven-ly._

Danny shook his head with an amused chuckle and kept rubbing the tiger's side in circles. "How did I get stuck with you again?"

Págos huffed and flicked Danny with his tail. _Ha, ha. Very funny._ He turned and heaved himself on to the chair, effectively crushing Danny beneath his bulk.

"Oof! Págos!" Danny complained, but the tiger ignored him.

 _I'm probably not all that heavy to you anyway._

"You're still sitting on my _ribs_!"

 _And?_

"Come on, Págos," he whined in response, "we've got to go see Clark, Jason, and Lisa."

Págos chuffed excitedly and _finally_ let him up, circling in the space between the kitchen and the living room. _Come on, let's go!_

Danny just stared at him for a moment. "You're less like a tiger and more like a second Cujo."

Págos froze and his head shot up. _Hey, I resent that!_

The halfa just shrugged and bolted out the door before the tiger could catch him. He half-jogged, half-jumped down the stairs, dodged around the main counter and almost made it all the way through the lounge before Págos finally caught up with him and pinned him to the floor.

 _I,_ he sniffed superiorly, _am not another Cujo._

"I don't know." Danny replied, acting thoughtful. "You can grow and shrink in size- even if it is only because of that chain- you're overly-excitable and you're irrationally fond of me. Sounds like three checks to me… Cujo."

Págos growled and flopped down on top of him, driving the air from his lungs. _Fine. I guess we don't need to go see your friends._

Danny rolled his eyes, working on wedging his hands out from underneath the tiger and rolling him off. "C'mon, Págos. I'm only teasing. I know you're not a second Cujo." The tiger continued to sulk, so he crouched and scratched at his head. "Besides, I gave Cujo to Danielle and bonded with _you_ , didn't I?"

He perked up a bit at that and let out a rumbling mimic of a purr, licking Danny's hand. _Yeah, I know. Let's go._

* * *

Jump City was very different from Amity. First, it was larger. The buildings were taller, it took a couple hours to get from one side to the other, and there were far more people walking around. There was a nice park near what the residents of Jump dubbed the 'Community'- because it was a residential area and everyone there seemed to know everyone else- and it had quickly become Danny's favorite place. He'd even set up his shop/home between the Community and the Park so he could be near both of them. The regulars at his store had basically turned it into a hangout for the residents of the Community, which was one of the reasons Danny had remodeled it to have a lounge and split the bookstore/library and the game store into separate spaces. The Park was a huge expanse of grass with small hills and a couple trees. There was a pond on one side, a few benches, and the occasion water fountain. Despite being in the middle of a city, it was never very crowded. Págos loved it to run around on it and Danny liked the quiet. Secondly, his life here was different. He'd been careful to keep the ghosts off his tail, so while he still worked on both old and new inventions, he wasn't spending every hour of the day fending off attacks. It was… a nice change.

But that didn't necessary mean his new life was a quiet one.

Because thirdly, he lived in the same city as the Teen Titans. Well, most people just called them the Titans now, since none of them could really be considered teenagers any more. It was decidedly odd to be the one being protected rather than being the protector, but… well, it was for the best. Danny sighed softly. _Just one more year. One more measly year and I'll be golden._

His musing was interrupted by Págos loping happily away from his side; tearing across the grassy expanse of the Park. Danny looked up and grinned as he watched his three friends be corralled and herded towards him by the massive white cat. The waved as they caught sight of him and let themselves be pushed towards him.

"Hey, Danny!" All three of them chorused.

He grinned, "Hey. Cat got your shoe?"

From his place batting at their ankles to get them to move, Págos snorted. _You're just a comedian today, aren't you?_ Sending him a brief, amused glare, Págos spun around and darted away. Shaking his head exasperatedly, Danny turned back to the three people that had worked their way into his new life.

First, there was Clark. He had long blond hair that was typically left hanging free and hazel eyes. He was wearing plain blue jeans and a green shirt and had a cap pulled over his head. He was lean and tan, if not a little short, and was the most laid-back- and stubborn- member of the trio. He'd walked into Danny's store one day and decided he wanted to get to know Danny and that was that.

Next was Lisa. She was thin and of average height with shoulder-length light brown hair and green eyes. She usually wore leggings with jean skirts that fell to her mid-thigh, sandals or tennis shoes, and a long sleeve shirt under another shorter shirt. She was outgoing, thoughtful, and probably the most observant of them all.

Jason was also of average height with short brown hair and equally brown eyes and glasses balanced on his nose. He usually just wore jeans and sneakers with a white short-sleeved shirt and a checkered button-up that stopped at the elbows left open over that. He was certainly the most serious of the trio and the most focused on things like school and the future, which was probably a good thing because Clark paid far too much attention to his video games.

Still, none of them were unintelligent by any means. While Danny and Jason were the only ones with straight-A averages- with Danny having graduated early for convenience- Lisa and Clark weren't far behind with mostly A's and only one or two high B's at any time. Jason was thinking of going in to engineering, while Clark wanted to create games, and Lisa was thinking about mimicking Danny and opening her own store. The youngest of their group were Danny- whose birthday was smack in the middle of June and he'd just turned seventeen- and Clark- whose birthday was in November so he was still seventeen, going on eighteen- while Jason and Lisa's birthdays were both in February, so they were eighteen.

"You know," Clark complained good-naturedly, "you don't have to sic your tiger on us."

Danny shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?"

Lisa rolled her eyes and pounced, slinging one arm around Danny's neck while she dragged him towards their group's favorite spot in the Park: a massive tree a short distance from the ponds. Humoring her, Danny pretended to gasp and gag like he couldn't breathe and broke out into rasping coughs as soon as she released him.

"Drama queen." Lisa sighed, shaking her head at him. Danny blinked up at her innocently through falsely watering eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of _course_ not." Jason interjected dryly. Clark gaped at the brunette in disbelief.

"Was that _sarcasm_ , Jason?" Danny asked, gob-smacked. All he got in return was a glower.

Clark laughed, "I'll have to mark this day down on my calendar!"

"Oh, you two are _hilarious_." Lisa tossed her hands up, exasperated. "Hilariously hopeless, at least."

Danny gasped and gripped at his heart dramatically. "You wound me, good madam. Surely I am not completely hopeless?"

She eyed him for a moment and then allowed, "Alright, not _completely_."

He nodded, appeased, and then dissolved into laughter with the rest of them. "Completely weird- that's what we are."

"Ah, s'not so bad." Clark chuckled.

"Alright, alright." Lisa held up her hands to quiet them. "C'mon, as fun as this is, that's not what we're here for."

"What _are_ we here for anyway?" Danny asked, "I seem to have been left out of the loop."

"Clark!" Lisa and Jason chorused with matching glares, turning their accusing expressions on to the blond teen.

"What?" He defended. "He was busy."

"You were supposed to tell him! We don't want to drag him there if he's not going to have fun!" Lisa exclaimed and then whirled around in frustration. Taking a short breath, she smiled and looked over at Danny. "Well, we wanted to spend some time with you in the park anyway. I guess that worked out."

He nodded. "Okay, so what's the rest of it?"

Jason grinned. "You know the carnival they're throwing tomorrow?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. _Carnival? Oh!_ "The one 'in honor of' the Titans' or something like that? Yeah."

"It's an appreciation carnival. The city thought it would be nice to do something to recognize them keeping us safe." Clark broke in excitedly. "Everyone's hoping the Titans'll show up."

 _That… does sound nice._ Danny thought quietly as his mind briefly wondered back to his time in Amity. Even if the Titans mostly got a positive reception, there were very few true acts of appreciation given beyond a "thank-you". Which, obviously, was enough in itself, but Danny had as many "you're evils"s thrown in his face as "thank-you"s.

" _Anyway_ ," Lisa said, eyeing an overly-excited Clark warily, "my mom surprised me with tickets- four of them. I thought I'd ask if you wanted to come… I know you don't usually go for these kinds of things, but…"

Danny sighed softly and smiled at Lisa. It was true. He hadn't been very outgoing in… well, four years now. Two running around as Danny Phantom in Amity and two spent in hiding while settling into Jump. His life had been turned completely on to its head and now here he was, getting a chance to live a normal life, and he was spending it mostly around Págos and in the Park. _They just want me to go have fun, don't they?_

"Sure." Danny agreed, chuckling as the three in front of him perked up. "Sounds like fun."

 _Did you just agree to what I think you just agreed to?_ Págos's voice interrupted his quiet mind as the white tiger loped back to their group. _I almost don't believe it._

Rolling his eyes at his Bonded, Danny turned a questioning glance at his three friends. "So, did you really drag me all the way out here just to ask me that?"

"Nah, man. You've been cooped up inside for the last couple weeks. We figured we'd drag ya' out and ask why." Clark announced as he flopped on to the grass and pulled Lisa down with him, who latched on to Jason and pulled him down, and Danny soon followed. Págos immediately took the chance to sprawl across their laps and hum contently.

"There's a good cat." Lisa chirped as she stoked his white fur.

 _I'm not a cat._

 _Mmm. Technically you are._

 _Fine, I'm not a house cat._

 _Er… you're 'domesticated' and live in my house._

 _Do house cats have stripes and fangs and claws?_

 _Yes._

… _Do they roar?_

 _Er, no. I'd actually be concerned if they did._

 _Then I'm not a house cat._

 _That is a really flimsy defense._

 _I'm_ _ **not**_ _a house cat._

 _Alright, chill. She's just fond of you._

Whatever Págos would have responded was blurred by the happy rumble from his throat when Lisa scratched under his chin. Shaking his head slightly, Danny looked at Clark. "I've been working on another project and I'm close to finishing, but I've hit a couple snags. I'm trying to work them out."

Clark leaned forward eagerly. "Oooh! Another invention? You gonna sell this one, too? Didn't the ol' gov. by your last one?"

Sighing in exasperation, Danny shook his head. "No, Clark, I'm not selling this one. And no, the government didn't buy my last one. A company of _this_ city bought the rights to it. I let them have the plans and check that everything's being manufactured correctly every few years and the people are nice and safe. It was just for some extra money." He paused and then added for good measure, "And it wasn't an 'invention'. The ideas already existed and a lot of other products achieved similar goals. I just put them all those concepts in one, added a few new things, and made it efficient."

In fact, it wasn't even all that spectacular. A security system and voice control for your house- that actually _worked_ \- along with a phone app that would let you take care of things while away. All things that actually existed. He just made his own and then went so far as to connect the security system to minor Fenton weapons- like stun guns- that could be installed if one wanted them and keyed the security system to the police so they would be immediately notified. Sure, it was incredibly effective and didn't need a lot of power to keep it going, but someone else could have put it all together some other day. Danny just beat them to it.

Ignoring everything that Danny just said, Clark asked eagerly, "So watcha working on now?"

"One of my parents' old inventions." Danny answered, knowing that avoiding doing so would only lead to be pestered for the next week or so. Besides, mentioning anything to do with the Fentons usually had the conversation turned pretty quick.

Right on cue, Jason spoke up. "So, any new drawings to show us?"

He was answered with a loud _smack_ as Danny introduced his palm to his face. "I forgot to bring my sketchbook. I _knew_ I was forgetting something!"

"Aww!" Lisa whined, "Danny how could you? We love that sketchbook!"

"Blame the tiger!"

"What could sweet, little ( _I am not little!_ ) Págos have done?"

"Practically force me out the door in his haste to get to the Park? Attempt to bite my leg off if I took too long? Who knows, maybe he's just terrorizing me into caring for him 'cause he likes the free food."

 _What a lovely picture you paint of me._

 _Would you prefer rainbows and flowers and grassy fields covered with catnip and balls of yarn?_

… _Maybe being a violent animal isn't such a bad thing._

 _I thought you'd appreciate that._

"Do you terrorize him, huh? That's a good boy." Lisa cooed, stroking Págos's head affectionately.

"Well, it's nice to know how Danny's safety ranks in your books." Jason commented dryly.

 _She does realize that you're a very dangerous creature, right? Even without the city-leveling ghost powers?_

 _I'm not sure. I think I'm some sort of puppy in her eyes._

 _Huh. That's interesting. Think I should get her a lion for Christmas?_

 _I sincerely hope you're joking._

 _No, Págos. I_ _ **want**_ _to kill Lisa. In fact, that sounds like a_ _ **wonderful**_ _plan. You know, I think I'll buy her_ _ **two**_ _lions just to be sure._

 _I think the sunlight's getting to you._

 _A~nd now I'm a pale introvert of a lunatic. Great. Any other way you'd like to crush my sense of self?_

 _Mmm, no. Sounds about right, honestly._

Danny's lips twitched in the beginnings of an amused smile. Maybe today wasn't so long after all.

* * *

It was incredibly loud for a carnival. Somewhere on par with a Humpty Dumpty concert. Then again, there was an actual concert going on a couple yards away from him, so maybe that should be expected. Jump City had pulled out all the stops for the carnival. Food, booths, rides, music, gigantic TV screens replaying old battle footage of the Titans, or even just interviews or photos. Some people were dressed up in costume as their favorite Titan and others- like himself- were simply enjoying themselves. Lisa, Clark, Jason, and him had split up a little while ago. Lisa had wanted to listen to the music, Clark had apparently found Titan-themed video games, and Jason was… eating? He couldn't quite remember. Danny had just wanted to walk around and see what was there.

It was nice to be a teenager again. After leaving Amity, he'd been forced to trek across the country by bus and foot and eventually found himself in Jump. By then he'd needed to create a fake identity for himself, pull some strings for a certain tiger, and find both a job and a place to live. He'd taken a crash course in school to make up for everything he'd missed and graduated in a year and a half. All it took was extensive studying, finding a school willing to test him for a degree and then acing said test. Then he'd bought his new home-store and been off to a tentative start up until he sold his first 'invention', as Clark put it. After that, he'd been focused on getting everything set up, remodeling, installing a new lab, and generally settling into his new life. He hadn't just walked around and done nothing in… a very long time.

Págos was sticking close by his heels; earning him both a clear path and a number of stares. Most people in the city had heard about the teen with a tiger, but most of them had never actually seen him. He never went very far since he'd been busy at home and took his classes online. Plus, there was an all-purpose store within walking distance from his house. He had a bike for longer distances, which was a must since he had to avoid anything official and going ghost was now reserved for emergencies only. Danny handed the white tiger the last of the chicken he'd been eating and it promptly disappeared. Págos chuffed appreciatively and continued observing his surroundings.

 _Are all carnivals like this?_

 _I suppose. This one's pretty over-the-top, though. Because it's thrown in honor of the Titans, the city really went all out. Most carnivals are quieter than this; smaller affairs._

 _Really? Didn't you say that most people never even see the Titans?_

 _Well, they_ _ **see**_ _them all the time, but they never meet them. Too many star-struck fans wandering around. They probably spend most of their time in the Tower. I still can't figure out how they managed to come to own the only private island smack in the middle of Jump City. Granted, it's not huge, but it could've been used as an attraction or something if they'd set up… er, another park, I don't know. Still, the city could've made a lot of money off it._

 _Maybe they saved somebody important._

 _Seems likely, doesn't it?_

Págos fell silent and Danny simply slid back into his own quiet musings. Speaking of the Titans, weren't there rumors of Jump's favorite superheroes coming to the carnival today? They always seemed focused on keeping people happy and safe and, well, Danny was well aware that a lot of people in one spot like this was a prime target for criminals. Hopefully nothing would happen today, but the Titans also seemed like the type to take a chance to relax. With the number of costumes that were surprisingly well done, they could probably blend in pretty easily. Heck, he could have seen them already and not recognized them. He'd never seen the Titans at anything but a distance before. Sure, there were photos, but people always seemed to look different by camera than by eye.

Shrugging, Danny let one hand fall to rest on Págos's shoulders. _Anything in particular you want to do or see? I'd forgotten that I've never really brought you to anything like this._

Págos blinked up at him for a moment and then looked around once more, this time searching for something. _Where's that commentary coming from? It sounds like some sort of game._

 _Game? Oh, the contests. They're over there- opposite the concert. There's loads of them; food-eating, strength, speed- I think there's one that's competitive gaming or something. I think there's a Doom one planned to start in a bit. I'm thinking about entering that one._

Págos paused and hesitantly turned to face him. _Aren't those being recorded? I thought they were broadcasting the carnival._

Danny smiled and scratched Págos's head. _Don't worry. I never said I planned on winning. If you're that concerned, I'll just get a copy of the new expansion pack and play that later, alright?_

Págos chuffed his ascent and briefly rubbed against Danny's leg. _So, can we go check it out?_

Laughing, Danny nodded. _C'mon. It's this way._

He turned and made his way through the crowds in the general direction of the commentators. From what he could hear, there were quite a few people pulling off some spectacular stunts. In fact- wait, did he hear that right? Someone _broke_ one of the strength testers?

The moment they entered the contest area- which was sectioned off by a massive wall of boxes and tarps and the like- Págos darted off to investigate and Danny wound up chasing after him. _Do you_ _ **want**_ _to lose your privilege of walking around with me? Get back here before you accidently terrify somebody important!_

Págos trotted back sheepishly, ducking his head slightly, and then proceeded to tow Danny around like a kid in a candy shop. He just wanted to look at _everything_. Danny sighed softly. He had really been lacking in taking care of his Bonded, hadn't he? Págos never seemed to mind as long as he was around Danny, but almost every ghost was eternally curious about the human world. Danny had been so preoccupied with hiding himself away in Jump that he hadn't even considered that Págos would want to explore the rest of the world. He really was lucky that he'd bound himself to Danny- the one person that could ensure that he would be allowed to stay in the human zone without problem.

 _It's fine._

Danny blinked, coming out of his thoughts, and was greeted by the sight of Págos glaring at him exasperatedly. _I'm telling you, it's fine. Stop moping. I prefer spending time with you anyway. I'll see the world as I see it and miss whatever I'll wind up missing. I don't_ _ **care**_ _, so stop moping._

 _I should still take you places._ Danny argued back weakly. He could feel that Págos sincerely meant what he said through their bond. It made him feel a bit better to know that the tiger really didn't mind, but he still felt guilty.

Págos snorted. _When? You've been busy. I really don't care, so stop it. If you're really going to insist, go get me so food or something. I'll 'experience' that._

Laughing, Danny shook his head. _I'd rather not be reported for poisoning my pet tiger with too much human food. I'll give you something later, alright?_

Huffing, the tiger nodded and strolled leisurely away while turning his massive head back and forth to take in his surroundings. The people around him flinched with each swing of his head and Danny had to admit that Págos looked an awful lot like he'd just dropped into hunting mode.

They spent the next hour just wandering around before they met up with Lisa again. "Enjoying the carnival?" She asked, munching on some cotton candy, and reached down to stroke Págos's back. Said white tiger chuffed happily and waved his tail affirmatively. Lisa smiled at him and looked over at Danny. "And how 'bout you?"

Flashing her an obligatory grin, he nodded. "I haven't done this in a while. It's nice."

Any further conversation was cut off by an abrupt scream of "It's the Titans!" and a massive wave of fans that swarmed past them, all trying to get a glimpse of their heroes.

 _Ugh. Forget what I said earlier. I'm perfectly content being the controversial hero. No fan mobs, thank you very much._ Danny gagged at the thought and Págos's mouth opened in the parody of cat laughter while said laughter was echoing in Danny's head.

 _Is the all-powerful Danny Phantom_ _ **scared**_ _of a few measly fans?_

 _Clockwork's the all-powerful one, not me._

His familiar rolled his eyes. _You and your aversion to acknowledging how powerful you are. Any other ghost would be jumping at the title 'Great One' and demanding to have their name changed to it. What's wrong with you?_

 _I haven't let the fame go to my head yet._ Danny thought back dryly.

 _Other ghosts aren't famous._

 _Yes they are. Every human on the planet knows about them, if not_ _ **of**_ _them._

 _That's like saying humans know about humans. The race itself is too general._

 _Okay, fine. Amity Park can recognize them on sight. For ghosts who are usually locked away in the Zone their whole lives, that's about as famous as it gets._

 _Point._

Sighing, Danny turned towards Lisa and eyed her warily. "You're not going to go fangirl on me, are you? I can go find Clark if that's the case."

 _No need. He's right there._

Following Págos's paw, Danny spotted Clark dashing with the rest of the maddened crowd towards the supposed location of the Teen Titans. When he turned back to Lisa to point him out, he found only an empty space. Shaking his head, Danny gazed up at the sky. "Why me?" He half-cried, bemoaning his friends' hopeless hero-obsession.

 _Like you have any room to talk when it comes to obsessions._

 _Neither do you._

 _Point._

 _Two for two._

"I wonder if they got any time to actually enjoy the carnival?" Danny mused aloud. Págos abruptly yowled in surprise and dashed away, startling Danny.

 _Not sure, but you're about to find out if you don't MOVE IT! Incoming rabid fans!_

Blinking, Danny turned around and nearly flinched at the sight of a few hundred fans chasing after five very familiar figures. _Poor guys._ He thought pityingly as his brain processed the situation.

And then…

 _Flames! I'm on the collision path!_

Paling, Danny turned on the spot and bolted in the opposite direction and prayed he could find an empty booth or stand to hide in. He could see Págos's long tail like a white flag from here and followed it like a lifeline to the unsurprisingly empty stands of the previously packed concert area. Even the band members were gone.

Págos was crouched underneath the bleachers, hiding behind the stack of miscellaneous boxes and attempting to blend in to the shadows. He was doing surprisingly well for a tiger with snow white fur, but Danny had a sneaking suspicious he was using some of his invisibility powers to hide.

 _Is the big bad kitty cat scared of a wittle cwowd?_

Págos growled at him. _You ran too._

Danny shrugged. _And I now realize how stupid that is considering I could have just gone intangible. At least I'm not hiding under bleachers._ He sighed and slipped under the stands to sit next to Págos. _Or at least, I wasn't. It'll probably be safer to wait out the rabid fans here and then make a break for it._

Págos snorted and sank to the ground, stretching out leisurely, and pressed against Danny's side. _I sort of feel bad for the Titans._ The tiger yawned as the screaming finally became nearly unbearable to their enhanced senses and the massive wave of fans and fleeing Titans dashed right past their hiding place. _You think it's clear now?_

 _No. I'm not trying anything until I can't hear the fans for ten minutes straight. It's a big carnival. That has to happen sometime._

As it turned out, that was apparently not very likely. The chase went past them thirteen times in the space of twenty minutes, with the Titans trying practically everything to get away. It was actually quite comical and Danny started humming the _Scooby-Doo_ chase theme music every time they ran past. Still, the constant wild screaming was starting to grate on his nerves and he really didn't feel like sitting here for an hour. _Let's go with plan B, then._ Danny thought to Págos as he pushed himself to his feet and started shifting boxes and such to make the underside of the bleachers unnoticeable. He worked quickly to hide a makeshift path towards the stage and scanned it quickly to make sure the area backstage was empty. Nodding in satisfaction, he headed back towards Págos, who chuffed wordlessly and heaved himself to his paws before padding outside to await the Titans' return.

They weren't waiting for long before the shouts reached them again and Págos darted to the opposite side of the path and slipped into a crouch. _Well?_ He asked, sea green eyes fixed down the path.

 _We're all clear. They're almost here. I'd give it a minute at the most- ah, there they are!_

The group came screaming past again and the fans continued their mad chase down the path, but they weren't chasing anything but dust.

"Whoa, wait! Don't hurt him!" Danny yelped, pulling up his hood reflexively. The Titans froze at the actual calm and clear sentence and Págos clawed his way out of their grip. Danny breathed out in relief and adjusted his hood to be sure that it completely covered his face.

Don't get him wrong, he respected the Titans as much as the next guy, but… well, he had a more neutral opinion of them. He, of all people, knew what it was like to run around as a teenage superhero with the lives and safety of so many people on his shoulders. The problem was that he instinctively preferred to remain in the shadows, out of sight and unknown. Maybe it was his ghost nature, or because he was as equally infamous as famous back in Amity, or maybe it was because he didn't want to risk anyone finding out more about him. If anyone would try to find out about some random kid who had just saved them from a bunch of crazed fans, it would be the Titans. He just couldn't risk that. He only had one more year to go. It was far better to remain anonymous.

 _Well, that was ungrateful._ Págos grumbled while he turned his massive head to lick his ruffled fur. Danny chuckled in amusement and helped the tiger straighten out his pelt, throwing in grateful scratches for good measure.

 _Yes, well, you can't exactly blame them, can you?_

Págos grunted. _I suppose._ He conceded.

"Wha- who are you?"

Danny ignored the question and peered out from behind the boxes to check and see how far away the fans got before they realized that their heroes were gone. He frowned a bit at what he found. Sure, they were a far bit down, but the group was so large that the very back of it was actually fairly close to the concert area. Págos trotted over and rose on to his hind paws, resting his front one on some boxes, to look out with him.

"Dude, you have a pet _tiger_?"

That was louder than safe and Danny turned his head to glare over his shoulder as both he and Págos backed away from the edge of the stands. "Yes." Danny hissed as loudly as he dared. "Now, shhh! Do you want them to find us?" His gaze flicked over to Robin and he felt himself tense slightly. If anyone could figure him out, he'd be willing to be it'd be Robin. Danny breathed out and reminded himself firmly that the only thing they could see would be a shadowed glimpse of his eyes because of the slight neon green glow in the back of them. "And most people call me Danny." He introduced to answer Robin's question. The leader of the Titans visibly relaxed some at getting an answer and Danny was abruptly reminded that he probably looked like some sort of enemy with his face hidden in the shadow of his hood and a massive white tiger prowling at his back. _Well, whatever. A long as I don't do anything stupid, I'll be fine._

"C'mon." He motioned for them to follow him with one last glance outside the stands. Good. The rabid fans were wandering _away_ from the concert area. "This way."

Obviously eager to get away from crazed fans and follow the one person who seemed to be sane, the Titans followed after him willingly enough- if not guardedly.

 _Understandable._ Págos commented as he trotted ahead. _They don't know you._

Nodding in acknowledgement, Danny guided the Titans through his rush-made path and quickly over the stage to the back and pointed out the long hallway that led to the only back exit in the carnival. "That's how the band got in without being swarmed. It should be able to get you out. No one should know about it.

"Thanks." Robin told him sincerely, if not still a little on edge. Again- understandable. Danny had heard rumors of a sixth Titan that had abruptly just vanished. It didn't take too much guess work for Danny to figure out what had happened when the Titans seemed to have such a difficult time trusting anyone new now. "It was Danny, right?"

Danny stiffened, feeling his breathing falter and the blood drain out of his face. _He- that's just like-._ His blue gaze was fixed on the slight rotation of Robin's wrist, the way he just barely titled his head when he asked the question.

"Y-yeah." Danny rasped, taking a couple steps back and groping blindly for Págos's fur. His fingers brushed the reassuring white pelt and he felt his familiar press up against his side. The tiger's alarm was clear through their bond, but he was more concerned with calming Danny's sudden panic. "I… have to go. _Now_." His voice was strained and he barely noticed that Cyborg took a half-worried step forward. Págos whipped around and snarled ferociously at the mechanized Titan. " _Stay away!"_ Págos growled warningly in what Danny had dubbed tiger-speak (something he only understood because of his bond with said tiger).

Cyborg paused, caught off-guard by the seemingly docile tiger turning hostile (Danny doubted he was scared. Págos wouldn't look too terrifying to an experienced Titan in this form). Págos let out another wordless warning and stepped slowly backwards with Danny. "I have to go." Danny repeated, his voice flat.

And before the Titans could say another word, they were gone.

Danny looked blankly down at the puzzled Titans from his place high above their heads, crouched on a beam next to Págos, whose chain was still glowing slightly as it masked the energy using his powers had emitted. The ghost tiger peered at him worried and nudged him with his muzzle gently.

 _You alright? What happened down there?_

Danny's answering smile was full of sorrow and bitter fondness. _"_ _Commemorat mihi aliquis solebant_ _."_

* * *

Danny bolted upright, heart beating wildly in his chest, and nearly blasted his poor book into dust when it fell to the floor with a _thud_. He blinked rapidly as his battle-honed mind lurched back into nothing-is-wrong mode and left him wildly floundering to figure out where he was. A familiar chuff sounded from his left and then Págos appeared and rested his head on Danny's lap as he waited for the halfa to calm down.

It took him another minute to realize that he was sitting on the couch in his living room. There weren't any lights on- ghostly night vision an' all- and that the faintly glowing clocks on the oven and microwave read 3:43 AM. Danny fell back with a sigh and reached for the book he had been reading before he'd fallen asleep. He gave it a glare and muttered, "You didn't help for very long."

He hadn't intended to fall asleep in the first place. Not after meeting the Titans and having _those_ memories dragged up. He had doubted any sleep he would get would be very restful- which was correct- and he _really_ didn't need the more instinctual part of his ghost half to form an attachment to the Titans. He had enough people he was irreversibly tethered to ( _or is it just two now?_ ) and he really didn't need to be torn between two cities ( _could you even keep them safe?_ ) and it would be really stupid to get attached to the Titans because of an old memory when he didn't even really know them and they sure as heck didn't know him ( _because you failed once before_ ).

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to muffle the nagging voice of his subconscious. Sensing his conflicted thoughts, Págos chuffed wordlessly in support and briefly pushed his massive head against Danny's middle before turned and padding away to let the halfa sort through things. Danny unconsciously reached for the locket around his neck and opened it as soon as his fingers brushed the cool silver metal. He had no doubt it would be freezing to the touch to anyone else, since the metal was constantly being kept cool by his own low temperature.

On the inside, there were two different pictures on the inner faces. The first was of the Fentons. Danny had managed to snag the photo just after Technus had conveniently relocated their house to the beach. His dad was caught mid-run with expression excited as he exclaimed over and over again how their house had been possessed by a ghost and how great that was and on and on and on. His mom was standing off to the side, watching Jack with a fondly amused expression while contemplating how to fix the holes on the bottom of the house and whether or not to move it back before summer ended. And there was his sister, Jazz. She was laughing. That had been what had encouraged Danny to take the picture. Usually Jazz would have torn into their parents about the danger their work had put Danny into or how it was technically illegal for them to leave the house here or maybe started to psychoanalyze them, but instead… she just laughed.

 _Fenton._ Danny thought with a small smile. _I'm a Fenton._

The other picture was of Sam and Tucker. The background was blurred because of the way the camera had focused on the two teens, but it looked like it may have been the parking lot of Casper High. They both had one arm slung around each other's shoulders and their other hand raised in a cheer. He didn't remember what it was about, but then again, it could've been about anything. They were always trying to stay positive for him. The less sleep he got, the less free time he got, the less food he ate… they were always trying to do more to make up for it. Tucker was his best friend; his brother. They practically shared everything except ghost powers, and they'd even shared that for a time… sort of. They always knew that they could rely on each other, no matter what. They could be five states away from each other and in the middle of a huge disagreement and they _knew_ that the other would always help them out. Sam… Sam was the girl he'd fallen in love with. Despite his nickname, he wasn't entirely clueless. Yes, he could admit that it went straight over his head for a while, but around the same time that he'd finally gotten over Paulina, _some_ part of his head had noticed. It had seemed odd to him- Sam was his friend and part of his obsession, of course he'd do anything to keep her safe. But it was a lot harder to ignore after Valerie broke up with him and after the incident with Gregor. After that, he'd been terrified. What if this jeopardized their friendship? He'd bit his tongue and played clueless… until… that night they stopped hiding. There hadn't been some special romantic moment; no piers or fireworks or hey-I-just-finished-saving-the-world-again-s. He told her and it had to have been the best moment of his life when she'd kissed him. And then he'd wound up here, in Jump, just a month later… because…- Danny blinked, fighting back the black hole of emotion that had just risen. The air temperature around him had been dropping rapidly. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Danny thumbed the picture gently.

 _Phantom. I'm Phantom._

He didn't know how long he stared at those pictures, lost in his memories, before he was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when his finger brushed over the edge of the Phantom symbol engraved on the lid. Shutting the locket with a soft _click_ , Danny teethed his lip uncertainly as he traced the symbol. Did he really want to? Was he ready to look at that so soon after being reminded? He sighed, wondering if he was just afraid of the skeletons in his closet. He couldn't think about either incident anymore. They struck too close to home, but…

He pressed down on the symbol, which slid inward with a soft _click_. The false back swung open silently and Danny hesitated. He took a slow breath and flipped the locket over. The photo here was faded with age and had a small crease on the left side where it had once been folded. On the left was a tall man with clear blue eyes and a slight beard. On the right was a pretty woman with long blond hair pulled back into a thick ponytail and equally blue eyes. In front of them stood two children, both black-haired and blue-eyed. The one of the right was taller than the other and older by about three years. The two brothers were play-fighting in the picture, not even looking at the camera. Danny smiled softly at the picture and leaned his head back, shutting the locket with a quiet _snap_.

 _But before I was either Fenton or Phantom, I was a Grayson._

* * *

 **I hope all of you enjoyed the first chapter of** _ **Bloodstains**_ **! So, as above, there is a lot of speculation with the Titans' ages. They were never confirmed (that I know of) but the general fan consensus is this:**

 **Robin- 15**

 **Starfire- 15**

 **Raven- 15**

 **Beast Boy- 14**

 **Cyborg- 17**

 **I need them to be a bit older for this story (because Danny is 17 and er… well, the last passage above) so their new ages are these:**

 **Robin- 20**

 **Starfire- 20**

 **Raven- 20**

 **Beast Boy- 19**

 **Cyborg- 22**

 **Translations (in order from top to bottom):**

" **There you are." –** _ **Danny in Latin**_

" **He reminds me of someone I used to know." –** _ **Danny in Latin**_

 ***** _ **Págos**_ **is the English-spelled pronunciation of the Greek word for "ice".**

 **Also, as a random-yet-important note, the languages that each character is known to speak are below:**

 **Raven: English, German, Latin, Romanian, Ancient Sumerian, Sanskrit, and Azaranian (the language of her people).**

 **Starfire: English, Japanese, and Tameranean**

 **Robin: English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, German, Swahili, Mandarin, Cantonese, and some Tameranean**

 **Cyborg: English**

 **Beast Boy: English**

 **Due to Danny's interactions in the TV show (Wulf and Pandora) as well as him being a ghost and general DP fic-writer 'stereotypes', he can speak the following languages:**

 **English, Latin, Greek, and Esperanto**


	2. The Plot of a Bad Movie

Bloodstains – Chapter II  
 _The Plot of a Bad Movie_

The image on screen was a street-front view of a particularly cozy shop. It was two stories with the outer walls the color of a rich cream and a dark, low roof. It was set back from the street, unlike the stores around it, and had a well-tended garden growing in front. Between two arching tree branches one could see the name of the store- _The Lounge_ \- written in deep gold, cursive lettering on a long, clear window. The window was long and positioned to the right so the cobblestone path winding through the garden ended on the left and met the simple wood door with an old-style knocker and old style frosted window. Three vine covered arches sat over the path.

To the left of the image was a blueprint of the first floor. In the immediate entrance was the namesake of the shop. The lounge was a free hang-out for regular customers, complete with comfortable sofas, two televisions, and a bar with snacks and drinks. The area was spacy and open and dotted with the occasional potted plant to complete the transition from the garden to inside. The floor rose up a step and there sat the front desk with a locked door behind it that led to a staircase, which in turn led to the second floor and owner's home. There were two hallways on either side of the front desk. The left hallway led to the game-themed portion of the shop, for gaming enthusiasts, while the right hallway led to a well-stocked library with seats for casual readers and a group reading every day at 4 o'clock. Both hallways were well-padded and insulated to reduce noise from the other sections of the store. Below the blueprints of the first-floor was the date of the surprisingly large renovation that had turned the shop into what it was now. Whoever owned the shop would have needed quite of bit of free cash to comfortably spend as much as they did on the renovations. Or they just _really_ wanted to renovate it.

Just underneath the images were four people who appeared to be either young adults or teens. On the far left was a young man with long blonde hair and hazel eyes. Underneath the photo a caption read:

 _Name: Clark Williams  
Age: 17  
Currently attending Jump City Private High and participating in the Exchange-Schooling program for his senior year. He works part-time at The Lounge. Birth parents, Clare and Kyle Jones, were killed in a car accident when he was eight years old. Clark was adopted by the Williamses four months later._

To the right of Clark was a young woman with long brown hair and green eyes. Below the image was another caption:

 _Name: Lisa Brown  
Age: 18  
Currently attending Jump City Private High and participating in the Exchange-Schooling program for her senior year. She works part-time at The Lounge. Her father, Luke Brown, died of cancer when she was thirteen and her family moved from Pensacola, Florida to Jump City, California. She now lives alone with her mother._

The next picture was of a young man with short brown hair and brown eyes framed behind rectangular glasses. The caption below read:

 _Name: Jason Miller  
Age: 18  
Currently attending Jump City Private High and participating in the Exchange-Schooling program for his senior year. He works part-time at The Lounge. His birth parents, Lena and Marcus Miller, divorced when he was five. His father was granted custody and eventually remarried to Jessica Miller née Evans. When Jason was fourteen, it was discovered that Marcus was abusive and his father and step-mother divorced. Jason's mother, Lena, had been struck by a car and killed two years prior. Jessica was granted custody and later married Tyler Smith. Jason now lives with his step-parents, but retains his last name._

On the far right was a picture of a teen with raven-black hair with a few white steaks in it and ice blue eyes. Sitting next to him was a massive white tiger. Below the picture, the caption read:

 _Name: Nathaniel Dane (goes by Danny)  
Age: 17  
Currently owns and lives in a shop called The Lounge. He became emancipated at 16 after spending his life in an orphanage since being left there by, presumably, his parents. He graduated from Jump City Privte High in his junior year and focused on running his store from there. Not long after, he adopted a white tiger and received city approval to keep the tiger, Págos, with him. Págos is a 'fan favorite' of many regulars at The Lounge and has shown no aggressive tendencies to date._

"Dude," was Beast Boy's first response to the images on screen, "it's been less than twenty-four hours."

Robin didn't even blink at the comment while the other Titans finished reading through the information on the board. Raven had no response besides simply returning to her book with a bored expression, while Cyborg commented, "And it's not like the kid really did anything."

"I am sure friend Robin has plenty of the reasons." Starfire defended as she drifted closer to the screen curiously.

"Just the one." Robin replied evenly.

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "What? That he didn't freak out after getting within ten feet of us?" He asked. "I actually appreciated that, man."

"No, but most people can't pull a disappearing act on us."

An uneasy silence filtered into the room at their leader's words. It was true. The kid- Nathanial- and his tiger just rounded a corner and vanished. Beast Boy couldn't track them. ( _"The scent's just… gone._ ) Raven couldn't detect them. ( _"I can't find their 'presence', for lack of a better word._ ) Not even Starfire could find them from above.

"So are we 'investigating' them?" Raven asked bluntly, not glancing up from her book.

Robin shook his head. "Not yet. We're just keeping an eye on him." He pressed another button and a series of photos all dated within the last two years popped up on screen, replacing the previous information.

Beast Boy blinked. "Those are all our fights."

In each photo they could see a cropped and occasionally blurry figure that was oh-so-familiar. If the sheer number of photos was anything to go by, Nathanial Dane had been present at all of their fights for the last two years.

"Don't most people, you know, run _away_ from the destruction?"

"Not this one."

"But… why?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

* * *

"You're kidding me."

Danny dropped the stack of books with a _thunk_ ; his expression fixed into a mix of disbelief and irritation. "Please tell me you're joking." He groaned as Págos shook his massive head.

 _Sorry, Danny. But they're watching you now._ The white tiger informed him apologetically.

The halfa simply stared at him for a moment before slamming his head down on to his desk, attracting the attention of a couple customers sitting around the front lounge. He waved to them to let them know that everything was fine- even though it wasn't- and dropped his head back on to the desk again.

 _I really wish I had Nocturne's ability to put people to sleep and mess with their memories. That would be really convenient right now._ Danny mentally sighed to his ever-faithful companion. Págos chuffed sympathetically, but didn't say anything more. _And it's not like I can just stay away from the battlefields either_. The teenager added in complaint. _My ghost instincts would drive me insane! Literally!_

 _There is no ignoring your obsession._ Págos agreed unhappily. _And yours is particularly… troublesome._

Danny narrowed his eyes at the ghostly tiger. _Gee, thanks._

His familiar stared at him for a moment before realizing the line he just crossed. Danny scooped up the stack of books and stalked down to the library while Págos trotted after him and apologetically defended: _I just mean that you always head_ _ **toward**_ _the fights and people in danger rather than away. I get it, but…_

"Well, I can't _do_ anything about it, alright?!" Danny snarled in frustration and shoved a book into place with, perhaps, a little more force than necessary. The loud _thud_ earned him some surprised stares from the book-lovers among the chestnut shelves. Danny grit his teeth and reeled in his temper as he skimmed for where the next book in his stack belonged. Págos had a point and Danny knew it. His ghost half just didn't like hearing it.

 _So they'll drop by the store._ Danny thought with more confidence than he really felt. _We can handle that._

Págos cast him a disbelieving glance as they rounded another shelf, but huffed conceding. _I'll keep an eye on them, but I'm not certain how long I can hide my presence from the Sorceress._

The halfa felt a flicker of amusement at the ghost's way of referring to Raven. To the inhabitants of the Infinite Realms, that's what the blue-cloaked Titan was. They didn't share the greatest history with sorcerers either, so the edge of reluctance was understandable in Págos's tone.

 _Don't do anything you don't want to, Págos._ Danny reminded gently. _I'm your Bonded, not your master._ The tiger let out a rumble much akin to a purr at that and brushed against Danny's side before bounding away towards the front of the store, where the jingling of a bell signaled that someone had either just entered or left.

A flicker of warmth echoed over their bond and Págos mentally chirped, _Lisa's here!_

Smiling faintly, Danny slid the last of the books into place and headed down the hall to greet the brunette. When he got there, she was shuffling through the rightmost drawer on his desk and pulling out a small white earphone. Danny had made those, and they'd been inspired by the Fenton Phones. However, these little guys weren't made to transmit clear signals through the unsteady atmosphere of the Ghost Zone. Instead, he'd set up signals to cut his store into four parts: the lounge, the game store, the book store, and the backroom (which was down a side door in the left hallway). If two people were in the same area, the earphones would connect between them and no one else, and if you were alone in the area then the earpiece would connect to no one. Otherwise, they simply specified which area they wanted to connect to by saying "Sector: Book" or "Sector: Game" and so on. Whoever was in those areas would hear the conversation going on over the earphones. If you wanted to contact someone specific, you just had to say, for example, "Receiver: Jason".

"Hey, Lisa." Danny greeted as he neared the desk. Lisa flashed him a smile as she stroked Págos's fur and then quipped, "Hey, Boss. Where do you want me today?"

"Down the left." Danny answered, referencing how the left hallway led to the game store. "I sent Clark down there last time and he spent more time drooling over the games than focusing."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Are you honestly surprised? It's _Clark_."

Danny sighed in reluctant agreement and then grinned. "Exactly. Guess who's working the right today?"

She blinked. "You're sending Clark down the right?" She grimaced a bit. "Harsh. The poor guy hates books. He'll fall asleep before he's straightened out the first shelf."

"Maybe he'll learn the value of knowledge." Danny quipped as he settled at his desk and switched on his computer. He had a few shipments to handle and needed to go over the stock on Thursday, but it should be a quiet week. He was looking forward to the normalcy after the disaster story that had been the carnival.

"Besides, if he's good, I'll let him swap with Jason. And if not… at least it'll be quiet."

* * *

Famous last words and all that. It was never quiet in Jump. He really should've known better.

 _At least_ , he reflected as he ran with about ten other people in the opposite direction from the explosions, _it's only a monster rampaging through the city._

Considering it was a twenty-foot tall monster with scales, spikes, and the ability to fire incredibly destructive lasers from its eyes and mouth as well as breathe fire- he should probably be getting his sanity checked for that last statement.

"Aw, man! And I was about to beat my high score on _Galaga_!" Clark whined, jogging backwards so he could watch the destruction. Well, it was more like being dragged backwards. Jason had an iron grip on the neck of the blonde's shirt, as he hadn't wanted to leave the shop until he beat said high score, despite the raining doom not very far away.

Danny let out an aggrieved sound. "How did you even get _in_ there? You were supposed to be in the library!" He exclaimed as he slowed to a halt. There was really no "far enough" when a monster was rampaging, but he figured here was good enough for now. They were down one of the many streets in the Community, which temporarily appeared abandoned as people ran as far away as they could.

Naturally, since Jason and Clark had dealt with the chaos of Jump for so many years, they stopped calmly next to him without batting an eye.

"I have my ways." Clark answered mysteriously; complete with wriggling fingers and waving hands. Jason rolled his eyes and Danny snorted in response, prompting the blonde to cross his arms sullenly and state, "You two have no sense of dramatic… _flair_."

It was at this point that Danny realized something he should've noticed a while ago. "Uh… guys? Where's Lisa?" Really after all the ghost-fighting in Amity, you think he would pick up on things sooner. She was probably fine- the girl could handle herself, no doubt about that- but he couldn't help but worry.

"I saw her running out of the store, but I lost sight of her when I went to grab this idiot." Jason offered, jabbing his thumb towards Clark. Danny glanced back towards the direction they came from, a frown turning his lips. "Danny, she could be anywhere." Jason argued when he saw that expression. "You can't seriously be thinking about looking for her right now."

Logically, this was true. Unfortunately, Danny was half of something that seemed to _want_ to defy all logic and his ghost senses were tingling in warning. He had a bad feeling about letting Lisa run off on her own this time around. Clark scowled at him when he saw that Danny was unconvinced, "We're coming with you." He said, mindful of how stubborn the halfa could be.

"No." Danny denied immediately, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I'm faster than either of you on foot," he pressed when he saw them looking defiant, "and I live in this area of the city. I can find her faster- especially when I'm not checking over my shoulder to make we didn't lose anyone else." He didn't mean to imply that they were a burden and they knew it, but he knew they wouldn't be happy running off by themselves.

Jason scowled and worked his jaw before finally biting out, "Fifteen minutes. Then we're coming after you."

Danny smiled, feeling a sense of warmth bubble in him at the reminder that they cared so much, and nodded. "I'll be back in fourteen."

 _Págos, do you see Lisa?_ Danny asked mentally. He'd left the tiger behind to watch the battle as a way to avoid staying himself. His ghostly instincts were reassured that the situation _was_ being taken care of and he stayed away from the Titans. _Far_ away.

 _No_ , came his familiar's reply, _but-_

 _Yeah. I know._ Danny interrupted grimly. Págos sent him a wave a reassurance and he mentally felt the massive cat spring away from his position to search the area for Lisa. Ghost senses were rather useful, especially when the object you were after was something related to one's Obsession. Since Danny's was to protect the people he cared about and guard the innocent, anyone he cared about was instinctively tracked by the Living Signal they admitted. Just like ghosts had an "aura", humans emitted a "signal" that was different for everyone- like fingerprints. They were hard to track unless one was in the Ghost Zone- where Living Signals were like massive beacons of light- but since he spent so much time around his three friends, it was much easier to track them.

Lisa's signal was pulling him straight towards the fighting.

 _I feel like I'm in a movie with a predictable plot._ Danny complained. He felt a brief flash of amusement from Págos across their bond.

 _You're not quitting, are you?_

Danny snorted as he checked his surroundings and tapped into some of his ghostly speed. _Like hell am I letting the Titans catch me._

 _Well then get down here. I found Lisa._ The tiger's voice was tense and when Danny pressed mentally, he received a flash of an image that turned his blood cold. He pulled out his phone to call Jason. Phantom could handle this alone, but Fenton might need some help:

Dust and debris and walls on all sides. She was trapped, and the battle was getting closer.

* * *

Lisa was panicking. Big time.

She usually prided herself on being a level-headed person. There was no situation or problem you couldn't resolve by using logical reasoning. If you panicked, logic tended to go right out the window.

Then again, she was living in the world where people like the Titans and Young Justice and the Justice League and- according to the internet and news- ghosts were commonplace. Logic got sort of muddled in that equation.

So, yes, she was panicking. Honestly, she felt as though she had every right to. She'd heard the battle going on and done the logical thing and _ran away_ , and then she'd seen a family of four who'd needed help-

And she somehow wound up here. Brick walls three times her height on all side with rubble piling in from collapsed buildings and dust so thick she felt like she was suffocating every time she breathed in until she realized that _yes, she was suffocating_.

Unlike everyone else who usually sticks this close to the battlefield, Lisa had no superpowers or extreme agility or whatever to get her out of this. She was a normal, average human and she was fine with that. Her life was great, even in Jump. Okay, her dad died and that sucked, but she still had her mom and she lived in a great home and had great friends, so yeah- her life was great.

 _I'm scared_. She realized as she pressed against one of the walls, waving as much dust as she could away from her face. That was as much control over her current situation as she had. She'd never taken any superhero-survival courses and she suddenly felt that she could really appreciate the deadly situations that the Titans pulled themselves out of all of the time. Considering that they were out there _fighting_ the weird creature… monster… thing- whatever- they were in a lot more danger than she was… sort of.

The thing was… she didn't want to die. She was eighteen and just about ready for her senior year of high school- even if she wouldn't be in Jump for it- and she _didn't want to die_. She wanted to go back to laughing at Clark's antics like he was the younger sibling she'd never had. She wanted to go back to Jason and trip over herself trying to act casual because- as ridiculous as it was for someone who prided themselves on being sensible- she just couldn't admit that she liked him. She wanted to go back to Danny and worry over him all day long because it was obvious to her that _something_ had happened to that him and sometimes, when he thought no one was looking, she saw an expression full of grief and loss and anger that made the loss of her seem to pale in comparison. She wanted to go back to her mother and make a mess of the kitchen cooking dinner and then spend an hour cleaning it up via food-fights. She wanted to go back to the Park and be herded around by a white tiger she could treat like a puppy dog and laugh at the banter between Clark and Danny and just have _fun_.

Her next breath sent her coughing and gasping for air. Her mouth was coated in dust and her lungs ached and her skin felt powdery, but her cheeks were wet and she realized that she was crying; shoulder shaking sobs that made each already painful breath shorter and more difficult to reach.

"Jason!" Lisa screamed. "Danny! Clark!" She wanted out. She wanted to go home and curl up with her mother on the couch and watch a movie. "Mom!" She wanted to go back to _The Lounge_ and watch as Danny found the perfect game for Clark and to relax in one of the many chairs in the library as Danny pulled some mystical adventure of the shelves for them and read it aloud after they'd closed up shop. She wanted to read to the kids at 4 o'clock just one more time and watch them leave bright-eyed with a small gift from Danny while they chattered excitedly to their parents.

She wanted to _live_.

The only warning she had was stark white against red and then there was a familiar tiger using his massive head to shove her to her feet. Lisa blinked, sucking in rasping breaths, as she tried to figure out when she'd sat down. Págos pushed against her leg and Lisa staggered unsteadily to the side. A croak, which was intended to be an exclamation of "What are you doing?!" left her lips, but Págos continued to force her towards the other wall. It was only when stone dug into her hip that she realized that the massive cat was trying to get her to climb. There was a small section of brick where the wall had held together and simply fell flat, resting on-top of other collapsed pieces. Lisa scrabbled at the platform- her limbs feeling week and unresponsive- even if she didn't quite understand why Págos was trying to get her to move. Wouldn't exertion require more air, which would cause her to breathe in more dust? Either way, the tiger was frighteningly intelligent and Lisa trusted him well enough.

The platform was a good halfway up the piles of rubble and the brunette wound up using Págos's large back as a foothold to climb up. The white cat didn't seem to mind as he sprang up next to her on the small platform and nosed her until she faced away from the center, where the dust was gathering.

"Hey!" She exclaimed (or tried to, it came out more as a cough) when he began to lap and the neck of her shirt until it was thoroughly damp with tiger saliva. She weakly tried to shove him away- this was one of her best shirts; what was he _doing_?!- but she was rewarded with only a short growl as he gripped the cloth in his teeth and began tugging… _up_.

Lisa squirmed uncomfortably until she finally figured out that Págos was trying to use the fabric to cover her mouth (around the fifth time that his broad forehead smacked into her chin) and, grimacing, she did so. She was promptly forced into a position where she was curled into a ball, half-sitting, half-lying down and utterly trapped under a blanket of hot, white fur.

But breathing was suddenly easier and she found that each breath forced more of the dust out of her lungs than it trapped in. Unable to speak with her dry, scratchy throat and gagging a little every time she inhaled tiger-breath from her shirt, Lisa settled for tugging gently at Págos's soft underbelly fur as a thank-you. She felt more than heard (the explosions and battle cries were still drawing nearer and each one nearly made her heart stop) the acknowledging rumble and she felt relieved to notice that even though Págos was now the one in more danger from the dust, he seemed to be doing fine.

Lisa's next breath dissolved in chest-bursting coughs and she felt Págos shift anxiously above her as she continued to fight between coughing and breathing. Her spine and rib cage were beginning to ache and even with Págos's help, the dust was starting to collect high enough that the platform they were on was in danger and she couldn't see if the sky was beginning to clear through Págos's fur-

And then everything was abruptly silent.

She could hear the hiss of dust settled and the occasional trickle of rubble over brick and concrete. The silence pressed in on her ears until she couldn't tell if she was imagining a ringing in them or not. Págos huffed above her and let out a grunt as he shifted once more. Lisa blinked at the agitation in the movement. The tiger was bothered by something, but what?

A large piece of rubble collapsed somewhere nearby, hitting the ground with an astonishingly loud _thud_ and Lisa wondered how anything could be so clear through the rubble piles surrounding her-

Until Págos lifted her head and Lisa realized _that is_ _ **was**_ _her rubble pile_. The dust stirred angrily around them with each section of collapsed brick moved and Lisa could only squirm as she tried to sit up even while Págos grumbled at her and used his paws to pin her down.

Finally, with a headache inducing collapse that echoed around the too-silent buildings, she was greeted with the beautiful sound of three very welcome voices shouting, "Lisa!"

Págos finally let her up and three pairs of hands hurried to lift her out of her stone prison as Lisa felt herself begin to shake.

 _She was going to live._

* * *

Danny breathed out in relief when Lisa went limp in Jason's grip and clutched at his shirt, eyes screwed shut as she cough and cried and sucked in rasping breaths of clean air. The brunette was covered in grey-white dust and her hair was matted and tangled with terror-sweat, but she was alive and breathing and, even as he watched, she went from harsh coughs to sneezes as her airways cleared.

"She's alright." The halfa cheered breathily as he fell into a sitting position on their precarious piece of stone above Lisa's prison. She'd somehow gotten herself into the back of an alleyway before both buildings on the sides had collapsed into the empty space. The only thing that had saved her from being utterly crushed was the piece of slanted wall they were currently on. It was cracked, but whole, and leaned over the alleyway just high enough for them to be clear of the dust, but low enough to have reached in and grabbed Lisa. The relief washing through him was- in itself- a relief. Anxiety over the life of someone you consider a friend was _not_ a pleasant feeling, no matter how many times one dealt with it.

Clark shuffled nervously where he stood, shifting from foot to foot as he eyed the swirling dust. "So… should we take her to a hospital or something?" He asked, glancing between the other two males of the quartet. Lisa seemed deaf to their conversation, as she simply buried her face into Jason's shoulder and didn't move.

 _Poor thing's traumatized._ Págos sighed as he paced around and tried to shake the dust off his coat. He could just go intangible later, but Danny didn't doubt that the tiger was uncomfortable. The halfa had a thin coat of dust covering him from digging out Lisa and he was resisting the urge to scratch and rub at his skin to get it off. Stuff like this was stubborn enough to not come off without a long shower.

Nodding absentmindedly, Danny scrubbed at his face as he processed Clark's question. His ghost instincts had nearly taken him over near the end, driving his mind in endless circles completely fixated on Lisa as he tried to avoid abruptly going ghost. Although, hopefully his failsafe would hold out if a situation like that ever arose. He was still a little dazed from suddenly being back in control now that Lisa was safe. "No." He finally answered. "We should call her mother. Does anyone have her home phone number? Or her mother's cell?"

Both Clark and Jason shook their heads in a negative and Danny resorted to checking Lisa's pockets for her cell phone. He came up lucky with the side pocket on her skirt and then tossed his hands up when he turned the screen on. "Defeated by the passcode!" He exclaimed exasperatedly. Jason and Clark chuckled despite themselves and Danny mock-scowled at them in response. "C'mon." He said, standing up. "Let's get her home."

Considering it was a fair distance to walk, Danny (who was the strongest of the group, much to the others' confusion and Págos's amusement) was the one who crouched next to Lisa and gently prodded her back to the world of the living. "Hey." He said softly when she looked up at him. Her brow furrowed a bit before her eyes cleared and she quickly released Jason with a faint blush. The brunette scrubbed at her eyes to wipe the tear tracks off her cheeks. "I must look like a damsel." She said between hiccups and coughs.

"In distress." Danny agreed teasingly. She scowled at him and punched his arm weakly, but a bit of her usual smile slipped through. "We're going to take you home, yeah?" He checked carefully. If she didn't want to be moved yet, he wouldn't force her.

She nodded and he saw her starting to stand up by herself. Knowing full well that she would be too exhausted and shaky to do so, he let her. She got about as far as pushing against the ground to get to her knees before she slumped back in defeat.

"Bridal or piggyback?" Danny quipped, trying to keep her mood up.

Lisa scowled and muttered, "I hate being the damsel in distress."

"We know." Jason sympathized as she motioned for Danny to turn around so Jason could help her up on to his back. She linked her wrists across his chest as he hooked her legs at the knee and stood in as fluid a motion as he could manage. She huffed a bit, miffed at herself since she couldn't walk, and dropped her chin onto his shoulder. "Sorry for uh…" Lisa apologized to Jason with a vague gesture towards his wet shirt. The brown-eyed teen simply flashed her a smile and a carefree shrug. "S'okay. I have a million other shirts." He reassured her.

Danny turned to follow Clark, who had found the easiest path down the rubble pile, and Jason walked just behind while Págos trotted at their heels. "Give him a treat for me, will you?" Lisa mumbled tiredly into his ear. "He's a good boy."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, he is." The halfa agreed. _Thank you._ He added mentally. _If it weren't for you, she probably would have suffocated before we got to her._

Págos rumbled a mimic of a purr, but then added a bit lightheartedly: _Don't thank me yet. I brought you right to the battlefield. Guess who knows you're here?_

Danny groaned aloud, drawing the attention of his three friends as he looked in the same direction of his familiar and spotted a certain caped figure.

"What?" Clark asked, backtracking.

"It's the Titans!" Danny announced as theatrically as he could, injecting obviously fake enthusiasm into his voice. _Or Robin, at least._

Jason sent him an odd look, but he couldn't say anything before Jump City's personal superhero leader had arrived.

"'Lo, again." Danny greeted flatly. He didn't doubt for a second that Robin knew he was the same person who had pulled a disappearing act on them. Not many people in Jump City had a pet white tiger. And by not many, he meant: only one person did and that was him.

Clark gaped at him and then clung to his jacket dramatically, nearly dislodging Lisa in the process. "'Again'? You've me the Titans before? Why didn't you tell me?!" The blonde wailed while Danny tried to pry the teen off his jacket with one foot.

"Because I knew this would be your reaction?" Danny offered and sent a pleading glance towards Jason, who finally helped free him so Lisa could settle on his back once more.

Danny winced a bit as Clark scrabbled to escape the elder's grip and Jason gripped the younger in a headlock to restrain him. "Er, sorry… he's a bit of a fan." He apologized as he turned to face the older hero. There wasn't much of a way to avoid this save running in the other direction, but he couldn't use his ghost powers with Lisa, Jason, and Clark here. He was a bit worried about Lisa, however. She was as much of a fan as Clark, but she was simply sitting quietly on his back.

 _She must be utterly exhausted._ Págos agreed as he sat by Danny's side and watched the Titan with unnerving stillness.

"It's… fine." Robin said, with only a slight pause as Clark made another wild attempt to escape. Still, he'd probably dealt with far worse… especially at the carnival. "What are all of you doing here?" Danny had to give the guy credit for reeling in the hero tone. There was still an edge of _tell me_ in a cool tone, but other than that, he sounded fairly normal; curious and concerned for their safety.

Lisa sighed. "Saving me." She grumbled from Danny's back, tilting her head to rest her cheek on Danny's shoulder as she loosed a yawn that ended in a cough.

"She was trapped in an alleyway." Jason explained as he wrestled Clark down from his latest escape attempt. "Danny went looking for her when he noticed she was missing and called us to help."

Danny kept his expression blank, but he was mentally groaning. He was sure Robin made careful note of that. _What did I ever do to deserve this?_ He complained. Págos chuffed next to him with a cat-like shrug and strolled off, stretching his steps lithely to show off. Danny didn't bat an eye at the power play.

"We're taking her home now." Clark piped up, appearing a little less the rabid fan now that the initial _Titan!_ craze had passed through his mind. As he spoke, Lisa turned her head to the side and loosed a set of body-shaking sneezes as far from Danny as she could stretch.

The halfa frowned over his shoulder and made a snap decision. "Actually, I think she needs to rest- not trek all the way home. Lisa, what's your phone's passcode?"

"Thirty-two, ninety-seven." She answered thickly, scrunching her nose at the left-over sensation from the sneezes. "Why?"

"Jason, would you call her mom?" He requested by way of answering. The older boy obliged and in under two minutes the agreement had been made that Mrs. Brown would meet them at _The Lounge_.

Robin, who had been silent through their explanation/conversation up until then, spoke up and offered, "I'll walk you there."

Danny mentally sighed. _Oh, boy. Here we go._

Págos eyed him. _Just say no._

 _I can't._ Danny admitted reluctantly. _I'm surrounded by three star-struck teens in the middle of a city that practically worships the Titans. It would seem odd to try and tell a Titan 'no', especially since I'm standing in the middle of a battlefield with a friend who nearly died. I should be "grateful for the security his presence brings" or something like that. Plus, if_ _ **I'm**_ _the one who says no, it'll make him more suspicious._

The tiger huffed. _I hate it when you're right._

 _I do too._

"Thank you." Jason was the one who answered the offer. "But if it's a bother…"

"No." Robin hurriedly assured. Danny frowned a bit. He couldn't tell if the rushed answer was a reassurance or him trying to stick around. Either this guy was an amazing actor, or Danny was losing his touch. "Besides it's a bit…" He trailed off and gestured to the rubble and collapsed buildings all around them. Almost as though it had been waiting for the perfect comical timing, a large structure of rubble fell to the ground, raising up a huge cloud of dust.

"…Right." Danny agreed, dragging out the 'r' a bit. He'd be tolerant this time, for the safety of his friends. He paused to look out over the field of destruction. "I think the store's _just_ far enough away to have avoided being smashed to bits."

Págos chuckled. _Really?_

 _The store? Yes._

 _And everything else?_

 _Mm… what's life without a few surprises?_

* * *

 **Just in case some people didn't realize what I meant, when I said there was a bar in the lounge, I meant the non-alcoholic kind. Danny** _ **is**_ **a teenager. It's just called the same thing.**

 **Also, as some of you may have figured out by the whole Adopted!Danny thing and the fact that he had that photo of the Graysons… Robin and Danny are siblings!**

 **Sorry, I couldn't resist the extra angst that particular fandom twist brings.**

 **If you're wondering how they didn't recognize each other before, it's because... well, take a guess. I don't want to spoil the story. Although, it's probably not very hard to guess… unless you don't know a thing about the Graysons.**

 **Anyway, would** _ **you**_ **recognize someone you haven't seen in over a decade on sight? I highly doubt it.**

 **Anyway, if you're wondering what Págos was doing when Lisa was trapped, he was following the recommended survival rules for when you're trapped in a dust storm:**

 **You need to cover your mouth and nose with a damp cloth to prevent either from drying out via inhaled dust. Págos did this with saliva (ew) and her shirt. You're supposed to cover your eyes with something as well, but they didn't have much at hand.**

 **You need to get to high ground, as dust will automatically settle closer to sea level. They're sitting away from the lower ground, so the air will be a bit clearer.**

 **You need to take shelter somewhere the dust can't get you. When Págos has Lisa curl up and then crouches over her, he's acting as a barrier between the dust and her. Since he's a ghost and thus doesn't need to breathe, Págos can do so without fear.**

 **Obviously all of this is a rush-job done well after Lisa's entered a dangerous state. She still had dust in her lungs and she'll probably be spending time in a hospital to make sure her system's clear after this.**

 **By the way, your nose and mouth do amazing jobs of keeping your airways clear of dust. You breathe in a lot of it during just a normal day. If you do ever inhale dust and break into coughs and then sneezes,** _ **don't fight it**_ **. This is your body attempting to rid yourself of what you breathed it. Drink lots of water incase anything went down you esophagus and you should be fine. If you breathed in fiberglass shards… well, then I would recommend calling a doctor. Or a hospital.**


	3. The Locket

Bloodstains – Chapter III  
 _The Locket_

Robin's secondary impression of the black-haired teen who called himself Nathaniel Dane was: _this kid must be the only non-ordinary person on the planet who can pull off ordinary._ In fact, if the teen hadn't pulled a disappearing act and Robin hadn't spent all night pulling up any information he could find on him, the boy wonder probably wouldn't have been even slightly suspicious of him. His friends certainly didn't seem to be, at least, nor were they acting like they were hiding something.

Nathaniel was.

Every time Robin looked at the blue-eyed teen, he was met with a steady gaze. One that said: _I know you're suspicious. I know you're watching me. You can try, but finding anything won't be easy._

Even the tiger seemed in on it.

Unfortunately, Nathaniel had a right to have an expression like that. He'd been trained by the world's greatest detective, but the only person harder to pin down than Nathaniel had been Slade. As far as his alibi for being in Jump; it seemed flawless at first glance. He'd been registered, gone to school here, and filled out all the paperwork. Well, _most_ of it. Things like his birth date and even his social security number had been left blank. Even his photograph had been empty until he'd adopted a tiger. Robin had to admit he was stumped on that front. How had the teen managed to pull all of this off with only half-completed paperwork? Not only that, but his life before Jump City was just… missing. It wasn't there. It was suggested that Nathaniel had lived in an orphanage and eventually become emancipated, but there was nothing proving either of those claims. He didn't have a driver's license and one of the only things with his signature on it was the Deed to his shop's land. It was like Nathaniel had _only_ ever existed in Jump and _only_ for nearly two years. Even a database search had gotten him nothing but poor matches with other teens living in the U.S.

So many things about this kid screamed: _I'm not average_. For one, Nathaniel was a genius. When he'd graduated early- after supposedly just leaving the orphanage- he'd taken the hardest classes at a well-respected school and aced them with ease. He'd also humored one of his teaches by taking an IQ test and receiving a range of 155-164. Two: he owned and operated a successful business, by himself, and didn't even seem fazed by the costs of doing so. The renovation- which was a loose term, considering that the old building had been knocked down and a new one built from scratch- had been _well_ into the tens of thousands. An orphaned kid straight out of high school just _could not_ afford that. More than that, an entire _floor_ of the blueprints had been deleted. Utterly erased, and only some very faint evidence that the blueprint for the first floor had been altered after completion had given Robin that hint. And even though it wasn't exactly rare for people to own a pet lion or tiger, Nathaniel's was unique on its own. White tigers themselves were not very common and it was difficult to obtain both them and any other big cat legally. But this one- it wasn't normal even by tiger standards. First off, it was _huge_. Thirteen feet long and looking like it weighed a little over nine-hundred pounds, it would be terrifying to any poor soul who walked around a corner to meet face to face with _those_ fangs and claws. Even most large tiger only a little over three meters- ten feet- in length. And then there were its eyes. Granted, white tigers had blue eyes rather than the yellow or green or orange tigers, but that was nothing like the sea green this one liked to show off when it stared at you with all the intelligence of a human.

Whoever this teenager was, he was _not_ Nathaniel Dane.

"So, I suppose we should introduce ourselves." Nathaniel spoke up as they were walking, dragging Robin out of his musings. The teen seemed quite relaxed despite the initial tension he'd shown upon Robin's arrival, which gave the unofficial leader of the Titan's something else to muse about. Nathaniel had displayed a brief- yet notable- challenge earlier. Robin wouldn't be getting any secrets without a fight. The fact that he was so relaxed right now either meant it was all a façade and he was a great actor, he was just _that_ confident in his ability to hide his secrets, or he was very good at adapting. It wouldn't matter how many things Robin found out, because Nathaniel would just roll with the blows.

Or, it meant that whatever he was _really_ trying to hide wasn't something lying in the direction Robin was hunting down.

"My name's Nathaniel Dane, but as a mentioned before- people call me Danny." Nathaniel continued casually. He was walking backwards now and still, somehow, not tripping over any of the debris. Another thing to mark down: Nathaniel moved with the unnatural grace of someone who'd learned how to be a one-man army. His gaze was fixed on Robin- who refused to be unnerved by the dual stares of both the teen and the white tiger- like he knew exactly what was going through Robin's mind. "This," he shrugged his shoulders the slightest bit to gesture to the brunette on his back. "Is Lisa. The brunette pulling off an amazing headlock over there is Jason and the blonde _in_ said headlock is Clark." Jason had not seen fit to let Clark go quite yet and the blonde tripped every few feet as he struggled to keep up in the awkward stance.

"You- _ack!_ \- can let me go anytime, you know." Clark complained mid-trip and tugged at Jason's elbow desperately. "It's getting kind of hard to walk over here!"

Jason simply strolled calmly forward. "We would if you could behave normally _despite_ the proximity to an actual Titan."

Grateful for his hard-trained poker face, Robin sighed inwardly. The Titans understood that they were inevitably going to have fans considering the whole superhero business, but it was getting more and more difficult to find people who would behave well, _normally_ around them nowadays. Danny and Jason's passiveness was quite refreshing.

"I _am_ behaving normally!" Clark whined in response. Even Lisa- who Robin could see was almost completely out of it with exhaustion- snorted at that.

"You don't have a 'normal' bone in your body." Nathaniel replied dryly, tilting his head to the side as he thought about something. "How about this: if you _don't_ spend the rest of the walk badgering our protector here-" was he imagining it, or was there a hint of exasperated sarcasm there?- "and act like a normal human being, I will _give_ you my copy of the new _Doom_ expansion- which I haven't even opened yet- _and_ let you play it on my computer for the next two months."

Robin actually felt like laughing at the open conflict on the blonde's face before he finally dropped his head in defeat and said, "Ah, the things I do for _Doom_."

"You've got a good computer?" He inquired. He didn't even have an extra motive for that question. It just must have been a _really_ good computer for Clark to look that conflicted.

Nathaniel grinned and nodded. "I've got one upstairs that I _only_ use for games. I don't even browse the web on it. Cost a small fortune to get everything for it, but there's not a game on the planet it can't run at peak performance."

Judging by Clark's enthusiastic nodding with every one of the black-haired teen's words, Robin was inclined to believe him. Jason seemed satisfied with the agreement and finally released the blonde. Clark sulked a bit, but refrained from immediately attacking Robin. Nathaniel chuckled at Robin's amused expression and flashed him a knowing grin. "You're just lucky I broke Jason of his fan-craze last year. I haven't a clue how to effectively bribe him."

Jason scowled at the teen and shot back, "Like there's not some hero you idolize out there."

The other boy abruptly fell silent, his expression distant. To Robin's surprise, Clark sent a fierce glare towards the brunette male and even Lisa shot him a withering look over Nathaniel's shoulder. Jason winced at their looks and sighed, running a guilty hand through his hair.

"Look, Danny- I-" He began. Nathaniel cut him off with a subdued, yet reassuring grin.

"It's fine, Jay. I know what you meant." He let out a gusty breath. "It's not like-" Nathaniel broke off and closed his eyes briefly before finally answering: "No, I don't. Not anymore, anyway."

Silence hung around the group for a moment and Robin stored the conversation carefully away in his memory. Nathaniel definitely had a past, and it looked like he hadn't even shared it with the people he considered his friends. He'd have to be careful in this investigation. Push the wrong button, and some people would utterly snap.

"Anyway." Nathaniel cleared his throat, evidently refusing to let the tense moment stay, "I didn't finish the introductions. The fluffy white housecat who's going to tear me apart for that comment later is called Págos."

He said this with an utterly straight face, even when his three friends burst into laughter as said white tiger whipped around with a miffed growl and stalked up to the blue-eyed teen, tail waving threateningly. Nathaniel simply grinned back and the cat and stuck his tongue out playfully.

In that moment, Robin could have sworn that Nathaniel Dane really was just an ordinary teenager. But then he whispered something that Robin didn't quite catch, but was certain wasn't English, and the cat simply walked off with a playfully offended huff.

"Págos?" Robin repeated, testing out the pronunciation. That wasn't a common name. Or a word he'd heard before, despite the numerous languages he knew.

"It's Greek." Nathaniel explained. "It means 'ice'."

"It's also a perfect example of how he's only _half_ -creative when it comes to naming things." Clark piped up teasingly. Nathaniel scowled at him.

"I _will_ reduce your computer time to one month." He threatened. Clark squeaked in terror and quickly clamped his mouth shut, which Jason chuckled at unabashedly.

The rest of the walk continued in the same fashion, with Robin listening while Lisa switched between almost falling asleep and sneezing while the other three boys joked at each other's expenses. When they finally reached _The Lounge_ , the two-story building appeared largely intact. The garden was covered in debris and a few of the smaller plants were crushed and one of vine-covered arches was leaning sharply. The street itself had escaped _too_ much damage, with many of the taller buildings only being partially collapsed. It was still quiet, as no one else had seen fit to return quite yet. But…

"I guess it wasn't _quite_ far enough." Jason commented at the sight of a large slab of rock and brick smashed through part of the second story.

Nathaniel shot the brunette a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

"You said the store might be far enough away to escape the damage." Clark clarified with an odd look.

The black-haired member of the quartet smirked. "Exactly. I said the _store_ would escape damage." He gestured with a dramatic sweeping motion to the undamaged first floor. "As you can see, it's the _upstairs_ that's damaged."

Lisa rolled her eyes, but nodded with a bemused expression. "You two really should have known better. Danny's the word-play _master_."

"And I so do love that title." Nathaniel chirped as he maneuvered through the garden to push open the door and set Lisa gently on one of the longer couches. The brunette girl leaned back against the cushions until Danny brought her a pillow and she kicked off her shoes to lay down comfortably.

"Want anything?" Nathaniel directed the question towards Robin as he headed over to the snack bar in the corner and opened the mini-fridge. Crouching, he pushed a few colored liquids out of the way and grabbed two bottles of water. Heading back to Lisa, he set them next to her and ordered, "Drink. And eat something with honey when you get home, or you're going to have the worst sore throat you've ever had tomorrow."

"Thanks." She replied gratefully, opening one of the bottles and sitting up to sip it.

Robin's attention was dragged back to the snack bar when Clark spoke up. "I would recommend either the cinnamon rolls- Lisa made those- or the yogurt." He was currently snacking on said foods while he lounged on one of the stools, looking for all the world like the destruction both outsides and upstairs was perfectly normal. _Is this how people usually handle our fights? Or just them?_ Robin wondered briefly.

"Mm." Jason swallowed a bite of the cookie he'd grabbed. "No, I'd go with the peppermint pie. It's a bit Winter-y for June, but Danny makes amazing pies so…" He trailed off and shrugged, with both Lisa and Clark voicing murmurs of assent.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Despite their claims to the contrary, I am _not_ the god of pies."

Clark and Jason simultaneously made _don't listen to the idiot_ expressions, which was not unnoticed by the evidently disputed god of pies. "If my pies are so amazing, why are you eating Lisa's cinnamon rolls you Jason's mother's cookies?"

Jason had the decency to look abashed. "Because we finished off the pie earlier?" He offered.

"So you offered it to our guest here _why_?"

"You _always_ have a second pie stored away for when the first is gone!" Clark pleaded. "C'mon, Danny. Pretty please with your pies on top?" Nathaniel crossed him arms and simply raised an eyebrow in an unconvinced fashion. "As celebration for Lisa still being alive?"

He instantly received a defeated scowl in response. "Nice, Clark. Using my protective tendencies to blackmail me? Low blow, man. Low blow." Clark continued with the pleading puppy-dog eyes and Nathaniel sighed. "Fine. The fridge should be alright. It looks like everything _but_ the kitchen was smashed so… it's on the bottom shelf. On the left."

Robin can assure anyone who asked later on, if and when he ever retold the story of his second encounter with Nathaniel Dane, that _yes_ \- that was the fastest he'd ever seen any two people disappear from a room.

"And bring it down here if you're going to offer it to other people!" Nathaniel hollered up the staircase behind his desk. He turned around to look over at Robin, " _Did_ you want any?"

And there it was again. Another brief moment that reinforced Robin's impression that this teenager was _far_ from normal. He wasn't asking if Robin wanted to stay and eat any pie, he was asking if the leader of the Titans- who probably had far more important things to do than sit around with a bunch of teenagers he barely knew and chat while eating pie- wanted some pie.

 _I know you're watching me. I know you're trying to figure me out. I won't make it easy._

"Sure." He answered. "With that sort of reaction, Beast Boy and Cyborg will give me an earful for not trying it."

Nathaniel watched him for a moment and Robin found himself wondering what was going through the younger teen's head. For once, he didn't have a clue. Then, Págos chuffed and Danny's gaze snapped over to the tiger, some emotion flaring in his eyes. He tensed, and when his blue eyes returned to Robin's mask, they were icy and unreadable. "I have to check out the damage upstairs. I'll send Clark down with some." He glanced towards the couches. "You might as well sit."

And with that he vanished upstairs.

"Who _are_ you?"

Robin's head snapped around at the rasping voice and he was greeted with the sight of Lisa, sitting up and leaning on the couch cushions. The brunette had an icy glare of her own on her face and she was gripping the edge of one pillow so tight her knuckles had turned white. Págos was pacing along the floor; his sea green gaze fixed on Robin with all his unnatural intelligence gleaming inside of them and his fur rippling with each movement.

"Wha-?"

The girl interrupted him with a cold voice; so different from the warm chime it had been earlier. "I've only seen him with that expression when his family is brought up. And those aren't good memories." She narrowed her eyes and forced herself to her feet, using Págos as a support to glare him straight in the eye.

"So: who are you?"

* * *

Lisa had met Danny about a year and a half ago. It was on a tour of the Jump City Private High campus. There were two high schools here: one called Jump City High, and the other the aforementioned private school. JCP- both the intermediate and high schools- were for incredibly intelligent students ready for harder courses. It had a nearly spotless record of highly successful graduates and- since she was friends with Danny- Lisa was inclined to agree. Once a year, students with high GPAs and who still participated in extra-curricular activities and showed intense interest in their schoolwork and school in general, were offered a chance to tour the campus and then attend classes there for one week. If they wanted to, they could take an acceptance test and- if they passed- could transfer to JCP in the next semester. It was considered as prestigious a school as you could get in Jump City and Lisa had been nothing short of thrilled.

She'd already known Jason, who had been attending JCP at the time, and Clark- despite his laid-back and seemingly lazy personality- had also been selected for the trial group. The three of them had been friends since intermediate school and even lived within walking distance of each other in the Community. With encouragement from each other and their parents, both Clark and Lisa took the acceptance test, passed, and transferred to JCP.

Not one week later, she met the enigma known as Nathaniel Dane.

They sat next to each other in English and her first impression of the boy had been that he was quiet, but helpful and cheerful. He was an interesting character right off the bat, simply because he seemed so _normal_. He was plain- with no mysterious scars or tattoos that she could see- and he'd told her- when she asked- that he was a recently emancipated orphan. She found his presence nice, but she couldn't see herself becoming anything more than casual acquaintances with him.

Then, she'd discovered that she and Jason had the same lunch. And so did Danny, and he and Jason were good friends. It was here that she met his joking side. The teen _loved_ sarcasm and witty banter. One lunch in particular had seen absolutely no food eaten while the trio had attempted to one-up each other in word-play. She and Jason had been utterly demolished by the younger teen. She laughed and asked him how he'd gotten so good. He flashed her a side grin that gave her a peek into how this seemingly normal teen was actually an endless puzzle and said:

" _Practice."_

The bell had rung before she'd asked: "How much?" and she hadn't seen him for the rest of the day.

The next day, he seemed more open with her. He chatted about aimless and interesting things in English class as they worked on their partner project and she began to notice things.

When she'd asked him if he remembered anything about his family- since she wasn't sure how _long_ he'd been an orphan- his face had closed and he'd told her _no_ , but Lisa had lost her father and- for the briefest moment- she'd seen that same, soul-tearing expression that screamed _yes_.

And then she started watching.

Danny was a bright person. He was happy and moved forward and sarcastic and always seemed to have some witty response up his sleeve. He was driven and intelligent and could probably walk you through math problems so advanced they'd make your head spin without batting an eye. He opened a store without Lisa managing to figure out _how in the world_ he afforded the construction and sprung gifts on them at the oddest times. He was clever and knew _just_ how to trick people and how to manipulate conversations and there were times when his mannerisms reminded her of the many heroes and villains she read about all the time, but he was _Danny_ and that's was just who he was.

But he was also quiet and somber and, when he thought no one was looking, he had this expression on his face that made it look like _no one on the planet_ could possibly understand the horror he'd just experienced and Lisa would feel her breath catch. Eventually, she'd learned to pull him into a conversation- to do anything to get him to stop thinking about his past.

Then she'd met Págos and she could only laugh because _of course_ he owned a white tiger; why on Earth not? She'd encouraged Clark to go to _The Lounge_ and meet Danny, because Heaven knew he needed someone with the knack of taking away anyone's life's worries with just a single sentence and from there she watched Danny get _better_.

She learned, slowly, to avoid mentioning his past, or pressing to hard, because he would- he always does- get around to telling them things eventually. And every time, he apologizes and Lisa could only wonder why- with a slowly building sense of horror- Danny seemed _terrified_ of his past.

At some point, he'd become the younger brother she never had and eventually- _finally_ \- she'd taken away that shadow in his eyes that had been there for as long as she'd known him.

And only moments ago, she'd seen all of that work come crashing down.

"One more time: who. Are. You?" Lisa spat coldly, feeling her fury mounting. Págos rumbled beneath her fingers, a warning sound that she wasn't sure who it was directed towards. The leader of the Titans- who she'd be ecstatic and star-struck and awed to meet on any other day- could only stare back at her, caught utterly off-guard by her fury.

Págos pushed against her legs gently and Lisa looked down to see the tiger staring mournfully up at her. He chuffed softly and nudged her back onto the couch, where he dropped his head into her lap reassuringly.

"Is he really alright?" She asked, threading her fingers through the snow fur between the tiger's ears uncertainly. Robin stirred slightly behind her, but Lisa ignored the movement. Most people were caught off-guard by how intelligent Págos was, but Lisa had simply adapted to it. It no longer seemed odd to treat Págos like a human half the time and a giant, protective puppy dog the rest. The white cat hummed and nosed her knee, dipping his head in a motion that Lisa had learned to recognize as _yes_. She sighed and shot a far less icy glance over her shoulder at the Titan in the room. "Never mind, then."

Robin's expression had reverted to a neutral mask once more, but Lisa had learned to read Danny's poker face and she could make out the slightest hint of curiosity on the boy wonder's features. "His family?"

Lisa frowned as her anger faded and she bit her lip uncertainly. On one hand, she herself knew barely anything about Danny's past. Furthermore, it was obviously a sensitive subject to him and she had no right telling what she _had_ gleaned to the nearest stranger- Titan or no. On the other hand, she had seen _that_ expression which could mean that it either best to sock the Titan in the face and keep him as far away from Danny as possible, or tell him what she knew in order to force the Titan to help Danny resolve at least _some_ of the horror story that was his past.

Lisa turned her gaze to Págos, who met hers evenly, but just as uncertainly. It seemed the tiger knew only as much as she did. He would be no more help in this decision than her own thoughts. The thing was, despite her wish for Danny to have a happy ending, she lived in the _real_ world- not a movie. It just wasn't right to talk about something as personal as this.

Lisa teethed the end of her thumbnail hesitantly. It was a times like this that she wished her father was still alive the most. He always seemed to have the perfect advice to give. Just like…

" _There's not always going to be someone there with all the answers, Lisa. You've got to trust yourself to make the right decisions. Just remember: sometimes, the world works in ways we're never quite able to understand. If you're still not sure, give a little bit, and go from there."_

She smiled, feeling a bit better already. "Thanks, dad." She murmured. Looking up at the ceiling, she sighed as she tried to find the best thing to say. Robin had remained quiet through her musings, but Lisa didn't doubt that he would keep asking- subtly- if she said nothing now. None of the quartet was stupid enough to miss the small signs that showed that Robin was interested in Danny. Even more so, the perceptive blue-eyed teen himself. He hadn't turned the Titan away, so they had silently agreed to simply keep an eye on the situation.

Apparently, they'd been right to do so.

"Danny doesn't like to talk about his past." She finally began, feeling more than seeing Robin's interest in the topic. "Especially not his family. His official alibi is that he's orphaned and if you ask him, he'll say he doesn't remember them, but…" She trailed off, tilting her head down to meet Robin's masked gaze, even though her own was distant. "I've lost a father before. It was the worst experience of my life, but when I look at him… it's like he's seen the world burn." A brief pause fell between them and Lisa was going to stop there, but Págos nudged her knee and stared up at her, his sea green eyes pleading. She sighed and scratched his chin, but continued. "I don't know if he remembers his family or not, or if that's even who he lost, but your best bet for finding out is the pendant around his neck."

Robin straightened. "Pendant? I didn-"

"See it?" She finished dryly. "Don't be surprised. He tucks it under his shirt whenever he's doing something that's not sitting there looking at it. He's awful protective of it, so I'd advise getting his permission to look at, rather than stealing it."

Then she realized who she was talking to and was at least grateful that the Titan nodded in agreement, but she still- for security's sake- added, "Danny's stronger than he looks- and I mean that. I've only seen him look like he wanted to murder someone once- and I thought he was actually going to do it."

The Titan seemed alarmed at the sentence. "You thought he was going to kill someone?"

Lisa nodded and growled. "Jason's dad dropped by for a 'visit' once. Jason didn't want anything to do with him, but the guy persisted. Danny scared him off just by _looking_ at him." Lisa shivered at the memory. She hadn't gotten a clear look at Danny's expression, but what she _had_ seen had made her feel… cold. "Jay's dad had been… abusive." She explained a little guiltily. That was Jason's secret to share, but she really didn't want Robin looking at Danny like he was about to start running around killing people.

It was at that moment that Clark came downstairs, wearing an oddly serious expression- which was doubly as odd considering the three slices of pie on a plate in front of him. Jason followed shortly after, bearing two slices of pie on one plate and, after setting down the remainder, a single piece that he handed to Robin.

"So," Clark said, setting down his pie with a dark expression, "does someone want to tell me why Danny just walked up the stairs looking like he'd just been told his family had died yesterday?"

Jason's gaze, which had before been respectful, was now icy and analyzing as he stared down the Titan in the room.

Lisa sighed. "It's okay, guys. Págos says Danny'll be fine."

Clark nodded and his dark mood instantly faded as he ate his pie, but Lisa noted the subdued movement which signaled that the teen was still worried. Jason looked over at her, "He's sure?"

Págos rumbled, his massive shoulders lifting in a shrug, but his sea green eyes carried a clear message: _as sure as any of us can be._

Jason crossed his arms and tapped his fingers for a minute, glowering at the ceiling, before abruptly turning and stabbing a finger in Robin's direction. "I don't know _what_ you did and I don't care. Before you go _anywhere_ , you are going to- Fix. It." When Robin looked like he was about to argue- or defend himself or agree, whichever- Jason drove right over the response. "Danny is one of the kindest, most caring, intelligent, giving, _best_ people- not that I've just ever met- but have ever _existed_. He's had a shit life for that- even if he tries to tell us that it hasn't been utterly terrible- and _none_ of us are going to let that continue. So right now, I don't _care_ that you're some superhero. You. Are. Going. To. Fix. This. _Now_."

And with that, Robin was somehow dragged out his seat (somehow, because Lisa could not imagine _how_ Jason did that unless the Titan was letting him) and shoved up the stairs with the door shutting firmly behind him.

Lisa frowned. "Was that really the best idea? Danny might need more time to distance himself emotionally."

Jason met her gaze steadily, his eyes somber. "Before you met Danny, he used to disappear for incredibly long amounts of time. Once, I tried following him, but the only thing I saw was him coming back looking for all the world like he'd just watched an entire town- people and all- burn down to ashes and then he'd been told that he had to pick the next one. Ever since you and Clark showed up in his life, that hasn't happened." He sank into the nearest seat and dropped his head into his hands. "I was really hoping I wouldn't ever see that expression on him again."

* * *

The second floor was dark. The lights were off and the only way one could see was with the sunlight that was filtering through the cracks in the collapsed walls. The kitchen and living room, which were towards the back, were largely undamaged, with only a few pieces of rubble. It was here that the staircase led up to. The front of the second floor was smashed. The hallways had collapsed in, so even if the other rooms were whole, there was no way to get to them.

"I designed it that way." Nathaniel's voice abruptly shattered the silence and only years of training stopped Robin from leaping a foot in the air. He couldn't see the younger teen in the dim lighting, even in the small space. "The structures?" The blue-eyed teen stepped out of the farther hall, which had a partially clear area, and into a slightly more lit area. "This whole building is designed to _not_ collapse. The hallways in particular are supposed to take the shock. It's easier to clear it out than to redesign entire rooms. If the second floor collapses, the first floor will most likely be left undamaged. If the first floor is the one that takes damage, then the second floor probably won't come down on top of it, but that's not as ensured as the vice versa. There _is_ a basement, but I doubt you'd find it. And no, digging straight down won't work."

A small object was lobbed through the air, something that Robin only noticed because of a flash of silver and the rattle of a chain. Instinct took over before he could really think his response through, but Robin was still surprised to find himself catching the object instead of dodging it. Something told him that he wasn't in any danger, despite the other's flat tone.

"I can't tell if I want to punch you in the face, or yell at you." Nathaniel growled and muttered something that sounded like a curse. "I mean, you could have _at least_ let me know you were alive."

Robin looked up, surprised by the sentence. The younger teen was still too shrouded in shadow to clearly see, but Robin wasn't sure if his expression would give any more away. "Press down the symbol." Came the sentence that was far more like a command. And then, dryly, "I promise it won't attack you, or cause anything to blow up. You're suspicious of me- which is hilarious, by the way- but I'm not sure you can appreciate the irony yet."

"Irony?" The Titan repeated, his hand closing around the silver locket in his grip. Lisa had made it sound like it would be a difficult task to get it, but here it was- just sitting in his hand. "I'm afraid you've lost me."

The answer was bitter. "No, I _lost_ you ten years ago."

Robin felt his heart stop. There was no way-

"Open it."

He did.

And there is was, sitting in the false back of the locket like a missing page from a cherished book. On the left, his father. On the right, his mother. And in the middle…

This was the very same photo he'd looked at every morning ever since he was ten.

"Danny?"

* * *

 **For those of you who think Págos is** _ **too**_ **large of a cat, white tigers can easily be larger than their orange counterparts and weigh up to 300 kilograms (roughly 661 pounds) and can grow longer than 3 meters (10 feet) in length. Big cats are called "big" cats for a reason. They're** _ **huge**_ **. I saw a stuffed lion once- it was on a low display that wasn't roped off since it was a restaurant- that was considered small- and it was also young, considering the mane size- and it would still be taller than I am if it stood on its hind legs. And I'm 5'9. My cat- which is considered a large (not fat) housecat, would only be a little bigger than a full grown lion's paw. And tigers are larger** _ **and**_ **stronger than lions! (Yes, you lion lovers. That's a** _ **scientific fact**_ **.)**

 **If that's not enough for you: he's a ghost. We've seen plenty of oversized ones and it just so happens that even downsizing him can't make him average. It's** _ **supposed**_ **to be a reflection on how no matter how hard Danny tries to fit in and be normal and downplay his own power, he's** _ **just not average**_ **.**

 **Ah, the problems of troubled geniuses. XD**

 **Oh, for Pete's sake people, it's symbolism! The author declareth so!**

 **HA! Now you can't argue.**

 **Nah, I'm just kidding. Arguments, advice, and reader feedback are what make reviews fun. Argue away!**

 **And** _ **yes**_ **,** **I probably stretched Danny's IQ a bit too high, but… meh, fanfiction.**

 **So, Robin was quiet this chapter. Really, that's because I wanted him to observe the interactions between this group, so both you- as the reader- and him can understand the dynamic that built itself between four people who haven't lived the easiest of lives. Unfortunately, Jason, Lisa, and Clark aren't always going to be here for Danny, which is part of the plot of this story. Here is a shattered character being slowly pieced back together by three people who truly care about him and a dozen secrets bearing down on him, about to have everything he's been so carefully juggling collapse down on him without anyone standing right next to him to help- at least, not that he can see.**

 **It's a bit tragic, but that's what Danny is in this story: a tragic character who may or may not eventually find his way past the skeletons in his closet.**

 **You know… I'm rather fond of the whole "lost sibling" thing, but what do the rest of you think about it? I'm not going to go back and rewrite the story, but I** _ **am**_ **curious.**


	4. Meet the Titans

Bloodstains – Chapter IV  
 _Meet the Titans_

"Yes, _Danny_." Said halfa repeated. "Who else would have that photo?" Despite his harsh tone, Danny couldn't help the knot of tension that instantly released inside him. The whole way back here, Robin had only referred to him as "Nathaniel". Whether the Titan had developed some sort of grudge against nicknames, or it was some other personal reason, Danny didn't care. It was almost cathartic to hear someone who he'd thought was dead for years say his name with such… recognition.

He was well aware that the dim lighting was preventing Robin from seeing him clearly, but the halfa was in no rush to fix that. _He_ couldn't tell what sort of expression he was wearing. Part of his was experiencing a disjointed sense of relief, as though some part of his mind hadn't _quite_ accepted that Dick was still alive. He was also suppressing a waterfall of bad memories and another part of him was- quite plainly- _pissed_. Some logical part of his mind reminded him that if Danny hadn't had much luck finding Dick, then the other boy might not of either, but he was too busy being angry to recognize the value of that statement.

On the other hand… he reluctantly understood that even if Dick _had_ managed to find him, contacting him might have put Danny in danger. Especially since he was evidently leading the hero's life. Which was why here he was, standing in front of Danny… as Robin.

Releasing what had dwindled down to irritation in a gust of air, Danny yanked open the fridge- which was miraculously still working- and let the small light illuminate the room. He blinked to allow his eyes to adjust, and then crossed his arms with a slight scowl. Di- _Robin_ , or at least now it was- was simply staring at him in disbelief, and when Danny moved into the light offered by the fridge, he glanced down at the picture as if comparing the seven-year-old Danny to this one that was ten years older.

"Don't recognize your own brother?" Danny quipped tiredly. "I don't blame you. I didn't either."

That seemed to get Robin back into the conversation. "Then how did you figure it out?" He asked. For a moment, it looked like he was going to take a step forward, but halted at the last moment. Danny didn't blame him. He was too busy wrapping his mind around the fact that his brother was _alive_ to close any distance. In fact, he sort of felt… _off_. He didn't want to be any closer at the moment.

That question, however, made the distance between them feel like miles rather than a few feet. Who knew how many things had happened to the both of them? How many secrets they were hiding? Danny had a few of his own, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to simply spill them all because Robin was his brother. In fact, he probably wouldn't say anything if he could get away with it. There was just too much hinging on everything right now. His future had never been so uncertain. But… maybe this was one he _could_ share. _Trust is a two-way street_. Danny reminded himself. There was just the matter of taking the first step.

"I didn't." Danny admitted. "The carnival brought up some memories, but nothing that made me associate Robin with my brother."

Robin frowned. "Brought up some memories?"

The younger smiled nostalgically. "You have this _thing_ you do when you're asking questions." He explained and mimicked the motions as best he could. It was far from a perfect match, he could tell, but the flicker of realization he spotted in Robin's expression let him know he'd gotten the general idea across. He shook his head as if chasing away memories. "Anyway, I didn't figure out who you were. Págos did."

"The tiger?" Robin checked, with a hint of disbelief.

"Mm. You probably already figured this out, but Págos's isn't a normal tiger." Danny chuckled a bit. "It sounds farfetched, but he's my familiar. They're not common. Only one in a few thousand people find them and most don't know when they do. Then again, Págos isn't common even for a familiar- and I don't mean his eye color." He added amusedly, letting Robin know he'd picked up on the others note of the tiger's sea green eyes. "For one- we can talk to each other." Danny tapped his temple and Robin's expression cleared in understanding.

"Telepathy." The older boy correctly guessed "That would explain how you found out, but how did Págos?"

Any normal person would have done a double-take at the idea of telepathy, but then again, Robin wasn't a normal person. _Plus, there's Raven_. Danny mused as he said aloud, "There's not a tracker on the planet better than Págos. He can trace anything, no matter how faint the trail or how distant the connection. He told me that we smelled 'similar'- our blood, DNA." He clarified. "And that we smelled of the same sire."

He received a nod in response and Danny held his hand out for the locket- which Robin tossed back to him- as silence fell between them. It was awkward and tense, with both of them absorbing more information than Danny would've liked at the moment. Turning around, he rummaged around in the fridge for a soda- warm since the door was open- and slipped into a seat.

"I would ask," he finally broke the silence as he slid a second drink across the counter as a peace offering, "what you've been doing, but that seems a little obvious, and 'how have you been?' seems a little insensitive." He paused to take a drink and thumbed the edge of the can. "So I think I'll settle for: 'I'm not _completely_ mad at you'."

Almost tentatively, Robin closed a few more feet of the distance between them to sit on the other side of the counter. "You're not?" He asked. Danny scowled a bit at the faint hint of confusion he detected. Either Robin wasn't sure exactly what Danny was still mad about or why he wasn't completely angry anymore- probably both.

"I'm still ticked you never told me you were alive." He directed a glare towards the older man, and for a moment he wondered if Robin could see the green in his eyes- the one that shouldn't be there. _And yet_ , Danny snorted inwardly, _it should._ Aloud he continued, "I spent a while trying to figure out if you were actually dead- second-hand information isn't always accurate- but I eventually had to give up." He pointed an accusing finger towards his brother, "And don't believe for a second that I don't think you were unable to find out if _I_ was alive- or where I was. I haven't a clue how you got into the hero business and I'm not enough of an arse to ask, but I'm doubting you were short of equipment if that tower's anything to go by." Leaning back, he relented. " _But_ , I understand."

Evidently, Robin had been getting more and more tense as Danny had been speaking, because the moment those three words left his lips, his brother had instantly seemed relieved. Danny watched him, wishing he could know what was running through his head just like he'd been able to do so many years ago. "You do?"

Danny scoffed. "You don't even have to look out a window to see why." He answered, gesturing to the collapsed walls with his elbow. "Where there are heroes, there is destruction. When there is destruction, people get here. You didn't want my name to be the next on the body count." His lips thinned with irony. "You were trying to keep me safe."

 _Unfortunately, I have a penchant for trouble._

Silence, far less awkward now that part of the elephant in the room had been addressed, filtered between them as Robin absorbed his words. "I did know you were alive." He finally admitted. "But I didn't know where. By the time I found out, it was too dangerous to contact you. I didn't want to draw any attention to you."

"Yeah, well…" Danny sighed with a glance at the destroyed second floor. "Thanks, I guess." He tilted his head back to urge out the remaining drops of soda and crushed the can's sides before tossing it into the trash can by the end of counter. "So, what now?"

"What do you want?" His brother replied. After all, he was a Titan. No matter Danny's answer, Robin knew what he was doing next. He had a responsibility to Jump City.

"Well, for one: to talk to you sometime within the next ten years." The halfa answered dryly. Robin winced and Danny regretfully realized that _that_ particular jibe might have come too soon. He dealt with hell in a handbasket like that all the time when fighting his own enemies, but the Titans didn't have the same one-on-one relationship (however odd that may sound) with their enemies that Danny did. Something that sharp and close to home wasn't something often tossed in the Titan's faces every time they fought. Danny was not that fortunate. "Sorry." He apologized quietly.

Robin shook his head. "I deserved that." He brushed off with a faint hint of dark humor.

"You said it." Danny allowed, since the accusing statement _had_ made him feel a bit better. "But the answer's not going to come any time soon. For now, I suppose I should go downstairs and inform my overprotective pseudo-siblings that they _don't_ need to rip you limb from limb." He paused and added, "You might want to let me show Págos what happened first, though."

"'Show' him?" Robin echoed, puzzled.

"Oh, right. I never explained- it's not _just_ telepathy." He chewed over his words. "We're… _linked_ , so to speak. Mentally, at least. He can 'live' through my memories if I let him, and I can do the same with his. We don't do it often, and only with explicit permission." He grimaced. "You've got to set some privacy rules if you're going to share mind-space with someone."

His brother seemed interested. "So you two are always in mental contact? Is there a distance limit?"

Danny nodded, willing to give the answer. "It's sort of like feeling a constant _presence_ in your mind. It felt really foreign at first, since Págos's mind isn't like my own. He's just as intelligent as you or me, but he _sees_ the world differently. He even calls parents 'sire' and 'dam' rather than 'mother' or 'father'. If a creature eats flesh, he calls it a 'hunter' and if it doesn't, he calls it 'prey'. If it's neither of those, he refers to it as an 'other'. He can be more specific than that, but it can take some time to get used to how he speaks." He leaned forward to rest weight on his forearms on the counter as he talked. "As for distance… between Págos and myself; it's always increasing. The longer we're around each other and the more connected we become, the greater the distance we can communicate. We haven't checked it in a while, so I'm not sure how far it is now." He answered with a shrug. "He says he can communicate with other people, but that's an active connection and is fairly short-ranged. It also takes a fair bit of concentration for him to do so."

 _But, it's not necessarily difficult._ A familiar voice added in Danny's mind and the halfa grinned when Robin visibly jerked in surprise.

"Say hello to Págos." He quipped aloud. He _could_ talk to Robin mentally for as long as Págos was acting as a bridge between them, but he figured that was something to tackle another day.

 _As hilarious as that was,_ the tiger commented unabashedly, _Jason won't stop pacing and it's getting irritating. Do you think you could come down here and inform him that you're_ _ **not**_ _going to disappear again?_

The halfa blinked and then smiled wistfully. "He's still worried about that, huh? Yeah, we'll be down in a minute."

And with that, Págos's presence receded to a faint brush against his own consciousness.

"That was… different." Robin finally concluded.

Danny shrugged. "You get used to it." He stood. "C'mon. Let's go before Clark eats your pie."

"When'd you learn to cook, anyway?" Robin asked almost teasingly. "The last time you were anywhere near a kitchen-"

Danny groaned at the memory. "Oh, don't remind me. _That_ was a disaster story. But if you _must_ know, it was ever since I discovered that I was the only person who could make dinner without _it_ trying to eat _me_."

Robin stared at him.

"Don't ask. Just… don't ask."

* * *

Three hours later saw Danny and Págos standing outside a certain tower in the middle of Jump City, craning their necks back in an effort to see to the top. The massive structure towered- ha-ha: puns- overhead and the glare of the setting sun reflecting off its many windows made Danny blink rapidly when his ghost-enhanced vision complained.

He shifted nervously from foot to foot and, standing next to him, Págos rumbled as his own mood was whipped up by Danny's emotions. "You know," Danny half-joked, "I was serious when I said I was fine with sleeping on the couch downstairs."

Robin rewarded his attempt at nervous humor- which was more like him wanting to run in the opposite direction- with a half-amused, half-reassuring glance. "Relax. We don't bite." He paused and added, "They'll be thrilled to meet you."

"Uh-huh." Was Danny's strained response. That was part of the problem. He was grateful- extremely so- to have his brother back in his life (he'd have to sleep on that before he fully comprehended the fact that _his brother was alive_ ), but his job right now was to stay _away_ from the limelight. Hanging out with the Titans would probably inevitably include one of their various appearances in public, and that would attract attention. What he needed to do- _now_ \- was turn around and leave- _now_.

But he couldn't. Because he was half-ghost and his Obsession was to protect the people he cared about. Regardless of how long he'd disappeared out of his life Di- _Robin_ (it would take a while to get used to that) was still his older brother who he'd grown up with for the first seven years of his life and _nothing_ could change that.

So: no, he couldn't walk away; even though he needed to.

 _Just like ripping off a Band-Aid?_ He offered mentally.

Págos snorted next to him, drawing Robin's attention as his mouth opened in the parody of laughter. _Sure. Off an open wound, maybe._

"What's he laughing about?" Robin asked a bit oddly, still obviously getting used to the idea of a telepathic tiger.

"How completely unhelpful he is." Danny answered flatly. The massive cat simply flicked his ears as though chasing away flies, utterly unabashed.

"Anything I should know?" He asked as Robin entered some code and the door glided smoothly open in front of them. His brother simply grinned at him and Danny immediately felt a sense of doom wash over him. "You wouldn't."

Robin shrugged. "Meeting them blind is an experience you'll never forget."

Danny glared as he walked forward. "I hate you right now."

"Mmm." Came the unimpressed reply. Robin was watching him walk from the entrance, already looking smug as he predicted Danny's next sentence.

"Stop looking like- oh, ugh. Fine. Where am I going?"

Págos chuffed and walked to the left, whereas Danny had been heading right.

Robin walked after him. "Just follow the tiger."

"No- don't _encourage_ him! He's horrible enough as it is!" Danny bemoaned life as he complaint fell on deaf ears and he chased after the pair.

 _Just because you have no sense of direction-_

 _I_ _ **have**_ _a sense of direction. What I_ _ **don't**_ _is a nose that can trace every step George Washington once took._

 _Well, when you put it like that…_

 _Wha-? There is no "put it like that"! That's just how it- arg! Never mind. You're not listening anyway._

As though to prove his point, Págos simply continued on his way up through the tower until they entered a room with what was quite possible the largest TV Danny had ever seen mounted on the wall. It was on, and Cyborg and Beast Boy were sitting on the long couch opposite it while playing some racing game that Danny though looked distinctly like _Speed Demons 3_. They were currently in the middle of an intense shouting match that was making his ears ring with every word. In a corner on the other side of the room- probably with earplugs in or just very used to the racket- Raven was mediating silently with a book floating in front of her while three feet off the ground like that was completely normal. Which, in retrospect, it probably was for her. A fair-sized kitchen was off to the side, but it wasn't very clean at the moment. The cabinets and counters were dripping with various colored liquids and other substances that looked suspiciously fuzzy were also flung erratically around. Even as he watched, another comically large splash of the strange assortments of what was probably supposed to be food exploded into the air and doused the kitchen with another coating of mystery ingredients. Starfire was in the middle of the mess, humming away as she stirred something that Danny was sure was slowly killing his nose every time he breathed in the smell. He was sort of impressed he hadn't passed out yet, given that Págos was literally covering his nose with his paw.

Rather than be utterly off-put like any sane human being would have been, Danny broke out into a smile. Who knew the Titans were so _normal_?

"Friend Robin!" Starfire dropped the bowl she had been mixing and flew quickly towards the black-haired duo as soon as she noticed that a certain masked Titan had appeared in the room. She halted when she caught sight of Danny and Págos and smiled even wider- if that was possible. "And you have brought the one called Nathaniel Dane and his big striped cat with you!"

 _That_ certainly caught attention, as both Cyborg and Beast Boy broke away from their intense game so quickly that their cars collided and GAME OVER flashed onto the screen without them even noticing. Raven opened one eye and lowered the book floating in front of her onto a clean counter before gliding closer.

"Er, hi." Danny greeted after a lingering moment of silence.

Almost instantly, Starfire was abruptly right in front of him and leaning close enough that barely an inch of space was left between them. His grinned a bit nervously and shifted one foot back. His battle-honed instincts were on high alert and he was having a hard time not bolting for the nearest defensive position. She took a deep breath and Danny only had enough time to spot resigned expressions of recognition on the other's faces before she burst out into:

"Whatisyouname?Wheredoyoucomefrom?Howdidyougethere?Whatisyourfavoritecolor?Doyouwishyobemyfriend?"

Danny blinked and took a moment to process all of that before he reeled off, "Danny, Illinois, I walked, blue, and… sure."

 _Wow. I didn't even catch all of that._ Págos hummed lightly, impressed.

"A better question," Raven spoke up in her usual monotone, but Danny detected a hint of sarcasm, "would be 'why is he here'?"

With their cover blown by Raven's words- although there had been no cover to blow in the first place, given that Danny had already known of their suspicions- Cyborg added, "Yeah, man. I thought we were just watching him."

Robin looked a bit like a deer caught in the headlights- although it was hardly noticeable considering his near-perfect poker face- and Danny realized that- much like he had done- Robin probably hadn't told his friends much of anything about his past. "The situation's changed." The boy wonder answered, and he seemed to be thinking over how to continue best as Beast Boy piped up.

"Changed how?"

Deciding that the best approach for everyone present would be the Bull in a China Shop, Danny answered bluntly, "I'm his brother."

He didn't have to test his imagination much to hear crickets chirping in the silence that followed.

 _You might want to elaborate while they're still in shock_. Págos advised dryly. _You brother doesn't look like he knows how to, at the moment._

 _Yes, well, he's touchy about his past- probably. I have earth-shattering secrets. It's not much of a surprise that I'm handling this better._ The halfa countered for Robin's sake.

 _He could have earth-shattering secrets and still not be handling this as well as you._ The tiger pointed out mildly.

 _Touché._ Danny conceded and decided to take the offered advice. "My name's not actually Nathaniel Dane. That's just an alias for reasons I'd rather not talk about, but it won't hurt anyone so don't freak out."

 _You just opened up the_ _ **biggest**_ _can of worms._ Págos growled, a little horrified at Danny's slip-up. Danny winced with mental agreement. He'd be spending a fortnight trying to come up with a way to cover that.

 _It just seemed like something that needed to be addressed?_ He excused weakly, and then added, _Robin's probably seen my city records- and those contain enough red flags that one more probably won't make a difference._

"My name's actually Daniel and for the first seven years of my life, I lived with him." He pointed at Robin, but left the explanation at that. If Robin didn't want to tell them what had happened, he would respect that. He certainly wasn't about to tell them why he was living alone in Jump when his last address of note had been Amity Park, living happily with the Fentons.

Surprisingly, it was actually Beast Boy who recovered first. "Dude, you have a brother?" The changeling exclaimed. "That's so cool!" He whipped around to face Danny. "Are you older or younger? How many languages do you know?"

"Younger." Danny answered. "By about three years. I'm seventeen."

Beast Boy immediately cheered. "Ha! I'm not the youngest anymore!"

Rolling his eyes and ignoring the impromptu celebration for obvious reasons, Danny asked, "And why is it important to know how many languages I can speak?" That was a rather odd question.

"He asked Robin how many languages he knows once." Raven answered and then added. "Meeting you is… interesting. None of us knew Robin had a younger brother."

Danny shrugged and eyed his brother. "Alright, now I'm curious. How many languages _do_ you know?"

"Ten, and I'm working on eleven." Came the prompt answer. "English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, German, Swahili, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Starfire is teaching me Tameranean."

Danny blinked, his mind reeling as he tried to grasp the concept of memorizing _ten_ languages. Granted, he knew from experience that it got easier as one went on, but still… _ten whole languages_.

Robin raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "How about you?"

The halfa shook his head with a snort. "Certainly not ten. Four, if you're that curious: English, Latin, Greek, and Esperanto."

"None of those are very common. Latin is a dead language and Esperanto nearly is. Why those?" Raven inquired mildly.

Danny grimaced. "I have some really strange friends. One of them understands English, but can only speak Esperanto- however that works."

"You might be older than him, but he's got you beat in the language department, BB." Cyborg added. Beast Boy scowled at him in response.

Ignoring the brewing argument, Danny turned to Starfire. "You're teaching him… what was it- Tameranean?"

"Yes, friend Danny." The orange-skinned alien beamed. "It is the language of my people. Do you also wish to learn?"

The halfa ran a hand thoughtfully through his white-streaked hair, which didn't seem to have much of an impact on the already wild hair. _Why not?_ He thought. He'd learned the other three languages on behalf of his friends, why not one more? "Sure." He answered decisively. "Sounds like fun."

That was obviously a good answer, as Starfire practically squealed in excitement. "Now I have two pupils! I must make a feast to celebrate my new friend and then share with you gifts of appreciation for making this a joyous day!" The redhead flew off happily and Danny couldn't decide if he wanted to grin at the sight or listen to the voice in his head that was telling him he'd just caused something he'd come to regret tomorrow. This was further reinforced by Robin warning him lowly, "If she offers you something to eat: _don't_."

Danny glanced at the destruction that had once been the kitchen and wisely nodded in agreement.

Smiling, Robin continued at a normal volume. "See? I told you we don't bite."

Glancing around, Danny had to agree. The Titans- after their initial shock- had seemingly taken his status as Robin's brother in stride. Cyborg and Beast Boy had somehow moved from fighting about how many languages Danny knew versus his age to a shouting match over who was better as _Mortal Combat_. Raven had returned to her mediation, but she seemed to be having a bit more of a difficult time of it. At least, if the dark cloud growing ever more ominous that was hanging above her head was any clue. Starfire hadn't seemed bothered at all and she had simply gone off to do… whatever she was doing, and neither he nor Robin were worse for wear.

 _Huh. I guess that_ _ **was**_ _just like ripping off a Band-Aid._ Págos concluded lightly.

"Do you want a tour now, or later?" Robin offered.

Danny blinked and hesitated before immediately agreeing. "You sure you're not busy?"

His brother shook his head. "Not nearly enough to not show you around. We'll stop by your room last, so Starfire has plenty of time to set it up."

"Oh, is _that_ what she's doing? Thanks." The younger said gratefully, and then stopped. "Wait. Room? I get my own room?"

"We live in a huge tower and there's only five of us." Robin answered. "We have plenty of space."

Danny grinned. Maybe he shouldn't be here. Maybe he needed to run in the opposite direction and never look back, but it had been a long while since he'd felt this at ease. Not even Robin seemed like he was going to ask about his rather questionable past and verbal slip-up. It was nice to be instantly accepted, without having to lie via an alibi to people he wanted to call friends. Besides, he was tied to close to them already. All he had to do was keep a careful eye out, and everything would be fine. After all, he only had one more year to go.

Right?

 _ **-Line Break-**_

 **Did I do the reunion scene alright? I was worried about that, because while I feel like it would be a bit angsty, neither Danny nor Robin really has the personality to have this long, drawn-out emotion conversation. They'd go straight for the elephant in the room, get it out of the way, and then leave it there until they absolutely** _ **have**_ **to take the next issue.**

 **This** _ **is**_ **a bit shorter than the previous chapters- only ten pages- but I feel like adding in any other scenes would ruin the theme of this chapter, so I stopped it here.**

 **As for the guest reader who made me smile asking for an update today:**

" **So you have wished it, so shall it be."**


	5. Parting Gifts

Bloodstains – Chapter V  
 _Parting Gifts_

As it turned out, a "tour" of Titan's Tower was more extensive than it sounded. Then again, it _was_ a tower and maybe Danny should have known better. Maybe it was the concept that people actually lived here that threw him off.

There were fifteen floors and while there seemed to be a rhyme or reason to them, Danny couldn't see it. First, there was the ground floor, which held the entrance lobby and no less than seven garages. _Seven_. What one could keep in seven garages was beyond Danny. The second, third, fourth, and fifth floors were a collection of rooms that varied from training areas, to extra bedrooms, to empty rooms, to storage rooms, to computer rooms, to- well, anything else, really. The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors were actually just one huge maze designed specifically to confuse and trap any intruders. The Titans apparently had a way to navigate the maze, and Robin had promised to show Danny later. The ninth floor was full of prison cells along with specially made cells for anyone the Titans had to hold for a time. The tenth and eleventh floors actually held the Titan's _actual_ bedrooms and a collection of rooms used for the same variety of reasons as the second through fifth floor. Danny's new room was apparently on the tenth floor. Floors twelve through fifteen didn't actually exist. Danny just called it that because the massive room he'd been in earlier was large enough for three floors and that's where it was- on top. Then there was the roof and, in Danny's opinion, the view was enough to make that his favorite spot in the whole tower- regardless of whether or not it was actually a floor. No wonder the Titans never really _needed_ to leave the tower expect to kick villain butt.

All in all, Danny's head was spinning by the end of the tour. When his brother asked him if he had any questions, he'd replied: "How 'bout a map?"

He reallyshouldn't have been surprised when Robin handed him one.

"Ready to go see your room?" Robin asked as they took the elevator down to the tenth floor. (Why they hadn't used that to get up the tower the first time, he didn't know.)

Danny leaned against the cool- although, it was warm to him- wall of the elevator and suppressed a yawn. He was actually tired from trekking all over the tower. This was extremely impressive considering that he hadn't been lazy during his "retirement" and ghosts- even half ghosts in human form- had a higher endurance than… well, pretty much any human. They were built to withstand being flung into buildings at hundreds of miles per hour. Of course they could handle a little walking.

So maybe this was comical instead of impressive.

"Yeah." He answered, actually interested. "Starfire didn't put _too_ much effort into this, right?" He asked, hesitant. It wasn't like he would be staying here forever. As soon as his 'house' was fixed, he'd be going back.

 _Probably._

Págos growled faintly from where he was lying next to Danny's feet. The halfa glanced down at him with a frown, but the tiger offered up no answer other than to shoot him a look he didn't quite understand and then drop his head onto his paws with a huff.

Robin raised a passively inquisitive eyebrow, but pressed no questions when Danny only shrugged. The elevator glided to a halt and the odd trio walked through the maze of halls- two lefts and a right, if he remembered correctly- to Danny's new room.

The instant the door hissed open, there was an over-eager hand tugged Danny inside while Pagos followed with a startled yowl. "Friend Danny, you're here!" Starfire sounded pleased as she deposited in the middle of the room. "What do you think? Are you pleased with the decorations of the room?"

The room itself was nice, if empty. The walls were plain white and the bed was grey, but a massive window took up the far wall and gave him a wonderful view of Jump. Heavy curtains off to the sides could be drawn over it to block out the light later, but Danny could imagine it was quite the view the later it got. The room had been livened with a couple of plants; something that looked like the inspiration had been drawn from the garden in front of his shop. It was plainly a guest room: impersonalized, but nice.

"It's great," Danny answered sincerely, "thanks."

Starfire beamed. "Then I shall go and prepare a feast of welcoming!"

She vanished before he could protest- she'd already set up his room- and he sighed and set his bag of clothes and necessities on the edge of his new bed. Págos paced the room curiously, sniffing everywhere he could reach and staring out the window, before finally hoping up on the bed.

 _I like it,_ he announced with satisfaction.

Danny rolled his eyes. "You like the view," he countered knowingly.

Págos shrugged unabashedly and turned to look out the window, watching the sunlight ripple on the waves far below.

Smiling faintly, Danny turned to his brother. "Thanks for letting us stay."

"It's the least I could do," Robin replied, the weight behind those words not evading anyone in the room.

Determined not to let the mood stay, Danny grinned. "Fifteen floors? Really?"

Robin blinked, "There's only elev-"

Págos huffed. _He knows. He's just messing with you._

Danny scowled while the boy wonder was mentally caught off guard. The connection between the three of them sent rather rapid signals about. Anything not seen visibly could be heard mentally. _C'mon,_ he complained mentally and felt Robin's pang of surprise, _don't ruin it, Págos._

"I can hear you too?" He asked, looking away from the tiger.

"Uh, yeah," Danny answered and rubbed his neck nervously. That particular tick had never quite faded. "Anyone Págos is linked to, is also linked to everyone else." He tapped his temple. "You can control who 'hears'," he used quotation marks to show that wasn't quite the right word, "your thoughts if you work on your mental control, but that typically takes time. Most people have a natural defense to deflect any invasion of their minds, but Pagos isn't attacking your mind, it's connecting it, so your defenses are allowing it."

Robin frowned. "So you can hear my thoughts right now."

"Sort of," Danny sighed. "Anything you think clearly and is directed towards either Pagos or myself is something I can 'hear' quite clearly. Everything else is more of an echo of emotion, or a vague inclusion of your thinking pattern. Pagos and I have learned to shield our minds, so you probably can only hear something we think at you," he explained. _Like this._

There was a moment of silence, in which Danny got the sense that Robin was concentrating, and then: _Can you teach me?_

The words were faint, but clear, and Danny felt a flicker of astonished pride. It usually took most people more time to separate what they wanted to communicate from their regular thoughts in order to send a clear message.

And yet…

Págos pulled the connection away from Robin and stirred uneasily on the bed. Danny sent the tiger a wave of appreciation. If there was one thing you could never do with mental speech, it was lie.

"Yeah," Danny answered as easily as he could, "it'll take a while though. We'll have to start later."

Robin grinned. "Alright, thanks."

The teenage halfa felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He had no intention of teaching Robin how to defend his mind. To do so, he'd have to allow Robin to feel his own, and that would set off a red flag taller than the Empire State Building. Danny's mind felt nothing like a normal human's, because he _wasn't_ one. And despite having never had any training like this, there was no way Robin would instantly notice what was wrong.

Págos growled faintly in his mind and Danny shot the tiger a puzzled glance. His Bonded simply glared at him for a moment, but turned to look out the window once more with a huff.

Confused, Danny briefly pushed this issue to the side and waved a hand at his bag. "I'm just gonna…"

He trailed off, not quite willing to send his brother away, but also needing some time to sort his thoughts out.

"Oh, right." Robin realized and backed towards the door, "I'll go help make sure dinner's edible."

And then he was gone.

Danny blinked. _Edible?_

 _Wasn't Starfire making something?_ Págos responded.

Danny recalled the mess in the kitchen from earlier. _Oh, right._

He set the topic aside for later and turned towards the tiger with a glare. _Now, what on Earth is wrong with you?_

The tiger's demeanor instantly turned cold. _Nothi-,_ he stopped, the word cut off in his head.

 _Hah!_ Danny retorted. _Can't lie in your own head!_

Págos snarled and Danny froze, not used to the sound directed towards him. _Fine,_ the full ghost spat, _I think you're wrong._

Danny blinked, mind ringing with the anger in the tiger's tone. Págos was _furious_.

 _Wrong about what?_ He asked carefully, trying not to antagonize his Bonded. Their link was so close that he could tell the tiger was simply frustrated, and it had something to do with… recent decisions?

 _You're running away again!_ Págos growled mentally. _I don't understand why you won't stay._

 _Stay?_ Danny repeated and then was hit with a wave of realization. _You want me to stay. Here. With the Titans._

The tiger leapt to his paws. _Yes_ , he answered fiercely.

 _Absolutely not_ ¸ Danny shut down the idea immediately.

 _Why?!_ The tiger snapped back, frustrated. _You never tell me why!_

It was true. Of all the things they shared, Danny had never told the tiger why he'd left home; why he pushed everyone away and refused to get attached. Págos was usually aware enough not to ask. Even Danny couldn't suppress the well of tormented emotions that arose each time the topic was brought up, and it was these same emotions that froze Págos's anger in its place right now. Regret filled their link, but he could feel that the tiger didn't want to back down.

 _I just… can't, Págos,_ the halfa sighed mentally.

His familiar leaped off the bed to press against his side, ears low. _Please,_ he asked, _just tell me why. You don't have to say what happened, but…_ Págos trailed off and took a deep breath. _I've watched you keep everyone at arm's length for two years now. Even Clark and Lisa and Jason don't know everything they think they know. But, I can see these memories of-_ he paused, and Danny's mental eye caught sight of the impressions of memories… all set in Amity Park- _you. Happy. I don't understand why you refuse to be now. You're running from_ _ **something**_ _,_ he finished in frustration, _but I don't understand what or why._

Danny sighed and sank onto the edge of the bed. He dropped his head into his hands while Págos hopped up to lean reassuringly against his side. _There are things in my past, Págos. People,_ he finally answered, _that are determined to not let me go. I can't risk getting close to anyone and dragging them into the mess that's somehow my life._ He turned regretful eyes onto his Bonded and stroked a hand through the tiger's soft fur. _I already hate myself for allowing you to be._

Págos sighed, a heavy, airy sound, and dropped his head on Danny's lap. _I still don't understand, but it sounds like Danger._ The tiger finally concluded. _And I don't understand why you're worried about me. There's nowhere else for me, even if there is Danger._

Danny smiled sadly. That sounded like Págos alright. The tiger was terrifyingly intelligent, but he still thought like a tiger. Danny was family and no tiger stood on their own no matter what. The idea that Danny didn't want his Bonded hurt was foreign to the tiger. He knew that Danny would get himself killed for Págos's sake, and Págos was determined to do the same for him. There was no such thing as sacrifices, or standing alone.

 _I know,_ Danny murmured. _Thank you._

Págos blinked up at him, confused. _For what?_

But Danny only smiled in response.

* * *

"Well?" Raven asked as Robin entered the massive room at the top of the tower. The rest of the Titans were scattered around, waiting rather patiently for his surprise.

"He's asleep." Robin answered.

Starfire frowned, "But our feast of welcoming is finally prepared." She said, gesturing to the table laden with enough food that it was creaking in complaint. She required no reply before she determined enthusiastically, "He must be tired. I shall make the feast of welcoming for breakfast!"

"I still can't believe you had a brother and never told us, dude." Beast Boy grouched from his spot on the couch. "Not cool."

Robin ignored the statement and turned to Raven. "How much do you know about familiars? As in," he paused to recall what Danny had said, "something called 'Bonded'?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she turned away from her book. He had her complete attention now. "That tiger is Nath- Danny's Bonded?"

He nodded. "His name is Págos."

"Wait, familiar? As in soul-bound stuff?" Cyborg clarified.

Raven nodded. "Familiars themselves are rare. Only one in every few hundred people ever find theirs, and most people don't realize that they have." She looked at Robin. "Bonded are even rarer, and it means that your brother isn't as average as he's pretending to be."

Robin tried to ignore the ominous feeling creeping up on him. He'd been hoping that his brother had had a normal life, but that had been a pipe dream ever since he'd laid eye on the younger sibling. Why else would Danny be living in Jump City under an alias? And there was no way that tiger was normal, even for a familiar. Danny had hinted that much.

"What's so unique about, er, 'Bonded'?" Beast Boy piped up.

"They have powers," Raven answered bluntly. "It varies from creature to creature, but none of them are normal. Furthermore, Bond-type familiars will _only_ ever bond with a human who has powers himself." She paused. "No, they'll only bond with a human who is not average," she corrected, "but they tend to people meta-humans."

Robin tried to avoid cringing, but he'd never been the most successful at masking his emotions from this group.

"Was Danny always meta-human?" Cyborg asked, spotting Robin's reaction.

The boy wonder shook his head in reply. "No more than I am."

"So it happened later." Beast Boy concluded.

"And you're worried about it." Raven pointed out.

"Yes," Robin admitted, "but I'm more concerned about why he wouldn't tell us." He gestured at the motely group. "It's not like _we_ would judge him for it."

"I am most certain he has reasons," Starfire voiced reassuringly. "Perhaps he is not so worried over our reaction, but another's?"

"His friends?" Cyborg offered.

Robin shook his head. "They're so protective of him, they threatened me."

This revelation was met with both surprise and amusement.

"But they seemed to think that Danny was hiding things as well," he continued while pacing. "All three of them mentioned that Danny refuses to talk about his past and that it affects him when he does." He recalled the moment of tension between Danny and Jason and repeated the scene to the other four in the room. "Lisa implied that something happened to him, but she doesn't know what." He thought about mentioning the incident with Jason's father, but decided against it. Lisa hadn't seemed overly concerned, and it sounded like the man had deserved it.

"So, he has secrets," Cyborg summarized, "but don't we all?"

His comment was met with silence, but Robin was reluctantly forced to concede the point. This was true. "Still," he countered, "I'd like to understand a little bit about it. I think we've all learned that not knowing just leads to disaster."

"Alright," Raven agreed, "but only as much as he's willing to tell. He'll probably open up if we don't push him too hard."

Robin nodded. He didn't want to accidentally chase his brother away, but experience told him that he couldn't remain ignorant on this issue.

* * *

Danny woke to the unpleasant sensation of an impatient, nine hundred pound tiger jumping on his bed.

 _Up!_ Págos commanded. _Get up, or we're going to be late._

His human Bonded groaned and rolled over. _Late for whaaaat?_

The jumping stilled and, suspiciously, Danny peeked over his shoulder to see Págos twitching his whiskers in amusement. _You don't remember?_

He sat up, confused. _Remember_ _ **what**_ _?_

 _Never mind_ , Págos answered with mischief alight in his eyes.

 _I don't like that look._ Danny retorted warily. _What are you thinking?_

 _That she is going to be furious._ Págos answered and then used his massive head to shove Danny out of the bed. _Now get up. I'm bored._

 _Alright, alright,_ the halfa groaned, _m'm up, m'm up._

He spent the first ten minute of his day getting dressed with an overly amused tiger following him around.

 _You know, you look like an inverted me._ Págos commented as Danny combed through his hair. The human of the duo blinked at his reflection, staring at the white locks in his hair.

 _You are in far too of a good mood right now._ He finally said.

Págos snorted and did not deign his comment worthy of a reply.

After that, Danny spent the next five minutes with his nose to a map while he trailed after Págos as they headed towards the giant… gathering room?

 _I'd just call it a living room,_ Págos offered as they wandered the halls.

Danny agreed.

And then promptly scowled when he realized Págos was purposefully leading him in the opposite direction.

So by the time they made it to the living room, he was well and truly exasperated with his mischievous pet for a familiar, yet the tiger deigned in necessary to bound in past him and then immediately bowl him over.

"Págos!" Danny groaned, shoving away the ball of cool white fur. "What is with you today?"

 _We're going to be late, and you still haven't remembered._ The tiger huffed.

" _What_ are you _talking_ about?" He sighed, but simply patted his head when the tiger didn't answer.

He looked up to see three Titans watching him with a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Oh, er," he rubbed at his neck, "morning?" He paused and glanced out the windows. "Or afternoon, whichever."

"It's still technically morning." Robin answered. "You're up before Beast Boy, so it counts."

"Ah," Danny articulated, "what about Cyborg?"

"He's down in the garage," Raven answered without looking up from her book, "working on his 'baby'."

"His T-car." Robin elaborated at Danny's expression. "He build it."

"Oh, cool" the halfa said, but he didn't get much farther before Starfire piped up with an excited:

"Good morning, friend Danny!" She quickly began ushering him towards the table. "You are just in time for the feast of welcoming."

 _She did mention a feast last night._ Págos commented, trailing calmly behind them.

Danny choked when he caught sight of the table. _Well, it's certainly a feast._

The table was groaning under the weight of an assortment of pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, toast, and a dozen other breakfast items. It smelled absolutely delicious- and it was completely overboard.

"That's… a lot of food."

Robin laughed. "Feel welcome yet?"

The younger sibling nodded. "Yup."

Raven stood as Starfire ushered Danny into a seat. "I'll go get Cyborg and Beast Boy," she offered. Robin nodded his thanks as he and Starfire sat down and began filling their plates, while Robin picked out whatever Raven liked. "I'd grab what you want now, because there won't be anything left once those two get here."

Danny took the warning to heart and filled his plate with whatever looked appetizing- what, being half ghost came with a… rather large appetite- and then set his plate aside and began putting whatever Págos wanted to try on another plate.

Robin glanced up when he saw Danny place the smaller plate on the floor and Págos rumbled appreciatively. His masked gaze turned to Danny's plate. "Some of that's tofu," he warned.

Danny shrugged. "I know," he answered, "I'm used to it."

He stopped, unwilling to elaborate, just as the door burst.

"Do I smell bacon?" Cyborg asked as he barreled over to the table and promptly snatched up the rest of said food item.

Beast Boy scowled. "I can't believe you're eating that."

Cyborg scowled back. "And I can't believe you're eating _that_." He pointed his fork at the plate of tofu Beast Boy had gathered.

Danny couldn't help it: he laughed. The gathering tension broke with the sound and the Titans turned to look at him, puzzled. "Sorry," he apologized as soon as he got his breath back, "you just- reminded me of someone." He grinned. "They fight over tofu and meat, too."

Págos shoved his head into Danny's side playfully. _Guess you've always been the middleman._ He joked with a gesture towards Danny's plate.

 _Guess so,_ the halfa agreed.

"Friends of yours?" Raven asked.

Danny nodded and shoved away the memories threatening to overtake his mind. Págos huffed and strengthened the link between them, helping to ground Danny in the present. He considered elaborating a bit- they looked curious and he was in a good mood right now- but the sound of a phone ringing interrupted the conversation.

Danny jerked in surprise and reached down to pull the phone he was using that month- better to be cautious- out of his pocket. He took one look at the number and groaned. "Oh, _that's_ what I forgot."

He was rewarded with odd looks from the Titans while Págos simply laughed at his misfortune. "What time is it?" He asked no one in particular.

"Nearly nine o'clock." Cyborg answered. "Why?"

Danny cringed. "She's going to be pissed," he muttered and reluctantly answered the phone. He was immediately forced to hold it away from his head when Lisa's angry voice shouted through:

" _NATHANIEL JAMES DANE! WHERE ARE YOU?"_

Danny eyed the phone warily for a moment, trying to decide if it would be a good idea to simply hang up, and then decided he didn't want Lisa to finish killing him. "Er… hi, Lisa."

" _HI?! We've been looking for you for the past HOUR and all you have to say is 'HI'?!"_

"I'm sorry?" He offered meekly and sent a glare at the Titans, who all seemed to be enjoying his discomfort immensely.

 _You look terrified,_ Págos explained between gasps of laughter.

 _Gee, thanks._ Danny snarked back.

" _Sorry?!"_ Lisa started up again, but stopped abruptly when another voice murmured from the back. It sounded like Jason, and Danny risked bringing the phone back to his ear. Hopefully he would calm her down enough that his ears would stop ringing. _"Alright,"_ Lisa said after a moment, _"you have sixty second to explain."_

Danny balked. How on Earth could he explain where he was right now? His three friends were hero-struck and, even knowing that Robin was his brother, they would still properly hyperventilate at the idea that he was staying in Titan's tower. "Well…" he hesitated, "I'm not actually sleeping on the couch."

" _We noticed,"_ came Lisa's dry retort, _"since we didn't get to exercise our kidnapping rights today."_

He groaned, "Yes, I _know_ you have kidnapping rights. I'm sorry."

" _Sorry."_ She repeated flatly. _"Danny, where are you?"_

The teenager sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Really, I am sorry, Lisa. I know I should have told you- but I'm not really sure how you three would go about kidnapping me from here." He paused, but could practically _feel_ her ire from here. Ah, well. It looked like he'd need to buy them all different going-away presents. "Hey, are you in the store right now?"

A pause. _"Yes."_ She answered suspiciously. _"Why?"_

"There a small key underneath my keyboard. It unlocks the bottom left drawer on my desk." He stopped when the sounds of shuffling were heard and the scrape of the keyboard being moved echoed through the phone. "Alright, there should be a stack of papers in there. Move them," he instructed and then held the phone away from his ear.

There was a brief moment of silence, and then a loud shriek closely followed by more distant gasps.

" _Queen of Shadows_ _?!"_ Lisa's voice chattered excitedly over the phone, and Danny could imagine her clutching the book closely. _"You got this for me? Really?"_

There was a moment of struggling and then Clark was holding the phone. _"Dude, you're the best. I can't believe you actually pre-ordered_ _Throne of Darkness_ _for me."_

Jason's voice came close, like he was standing near Clark's shoulder. _"I don't know whether to laugh, thank you, or hit you over the head for being so-!"_

"Me?" Danny offered innocently, a wide grin of his face. He'd gotten Jason a unit circle wall clock, simply because he knew Jason would appreciate it. "And I'd prefer the first two, but, knowing you, I'm likely to suffer the third as well."

" _Alright, you're forgiven,"_ Lisa relented as she took her phone back from Clark.

Danny cheered. "Whew, that was close."

" _Don't push it,"_ she retorted, but the words lacked any bite. _"Now, seriously: where are you?"_

He paused. "Would you freak out if I said Titan's tower?"

There was a moment of silence, and then:

" _TITAN'S TOWER?!"_

The halfa hissed and pulled the phone away from his ear once more.

"Yes."

" _And you didn't bring_ _ **me**_ _?!"_ Clark wailed. _"Danny, how could you?"_

"Well, I just didn't use my mouth to form any words to tell you," he deadpanned in response.

This was met with some very suspicious sniffling in the background. He could hear Jason sigh faintly and then it seemed that he had taken the phone from Lisa.

" _Sorry, Clark's being dramatic and Lisa seems to be frozen in shock."_

Danny rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

" _You've got to give them a break, though; we can barely ever drag you outside and suddenly you're hanging out with the Titan's?"_

He frowned. "You know why," Danny argued and then added dryly, "and Heaven forbid I be _social_."

" _Mmm."_ Jason answer noncommittally.

Danny sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll be there soon and _then_ you can kidnap me, okay?"

" _Sounds good."_ Jason agreed. _"They might get over their shock by then."_

"Thanks, Jay. See you."

" _See you."_

He ended the call and looked up at the patiently waiting Titans. "Sorry about that," he offered apologetically, "I forgot that Lisa is determined to make good use of her kidnapping rights."

"Kidnapping rights?" Raven repeated curiously.

"Lisa, Jason, and Clark are part of JCP's exchangement program this year," Danny explained. "Basically, JCP is sending three students of every class year- freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior- to this school in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin school is sending the same number of students here." He waved a hand absently. "It's some sort of learning enrichment plan or something. Anyway, they'll be away for the entire school year so I granted them all the right to kidnap me whenever they wanted; starting two weeks before they leave."

"And you forgot about it today?" Beast Boy asked.

Danny nodded, grimacing. "Well, they usually kidnap me by using the keys I gave them to come drag me out of bed." He sighed as the Titans laughed. "And I can't even be mad because I told them they could do it."

Págos was beginning to pace, so Danny stood up. "Thanks for the… feast," he said, gesturing to the leftovers on the table. "But I should probably go before Lisa decides I'm taking too long." He hesitated, uncertain if he should invite them along, but the decision was taken away from him when Págos used all nine-hundred pounds of himself to begin shoving the halfa towards the door. "Págos!" Danny yelped as he fell backwards with a particularly hard shove. "I'm coming; stop it!"

The tiger merely huffed and continued shoving him out the door. _I'm sure Robin will track us down later, and bringing them may not be a good idea for Clark and Lisa's health._

Danny sighed. _Sadly, that's a fair point._

* * *

"Am I off the hook now?" Danny asked as he placed the home-cooked pizza on the long table in the Lounge's… lounge. His three pseudo-siblings had apparently decided to start out their day simply hanging out in the half-destroyed building. Danny, being the kidnapee, was not allowed to complain. Even if he was just concerned that the building might have a slight chance of coming down around their ears.

Although, he really had designed to be sturdier than that.

Outside, people and construction workers were filling the street. Citizens milled about, looking through the destruction curiously, while the workers were analyzing the damage. If there was one thing Jump did far better than Amity, it was being prepared to live in a city where heroes and villains regularly fought. A portion of the city's budget was actually set aside for repairs, unlike Amity. (Though, Danny had a sneaking suspicion that Vlad had done that purposefully- to make his life harder.)

Danny would probably have to deal with the workers later to get the repair costs sorted out and to see how long it would take. He'd probably start clearing out the rubble himself once his friends were gone; if only to help speed up the process.

"Hmmm… maybe." Lisa allowed from her spot reclining on the long couch. Jason was sitting next to her, scrolling through something on his phone, and Clark was tearing into the pizza with abandon. Págos was outside in the garden, laying on the flat boulder Danny had found specifically for him, and enjoying the warmth of the sun.

"The pizza's not going anywhere," Danny sighed as he sat down in one of the free chairs and snatched a slice for himself.

Clark stared at him incredulously. "But it's so _good_! I _have_ to eat it all!"

Lisa rolled her eyes while Danny muttered, "I thought I was the god of pies, not pizza."

Jason laughed. "I think you underestimate your own cooking."

Danny shrugged. It wasn't like he'd learned the skill because he felt like it; both he and Jazz had done so out of necessity. The older Fentons were often busy with their new inventions, but someone still needed to make dinner.

"I think you all need to get your heads checked." Danny countered dryly.

All three of them simply responded with a shrug and Danny decided to give up on the hopeless conversation; just like every time before. Instead, he turned to a new topic.

"So, now that I've spoiled your going-away presents, is there something else you'd like?" Danny asked. He was met with rather surprised expressions.

"Danny," Lisa spoke up, "we're leaving in two days." She gestured towards the stack of presents on the table. "I _think_ this covers it."

"You were supposed to get your gifts just before you left," the halfa argued.

"We're not going away forever, Danny," Jason replied with concern. "You do realize that, right?"

Danny found himself unable to reply. Págos's argument from last night was ringing in his ears. Every time he thought about the three of them leaving for their senior year, Danny couldn't help but think of an old saying Jazz liked to repeat:

" _You never know what have until it's gone."_

He'd tried to avoid it, but he'd become attached to these three. He knew that he'd been leaning on them rather heavily for the past year, and he knew he was lucky that they were willing to help him. He wasn't the most stable person right now; too many dark memories shoved away in the back of his head. Being on the run didn't help much either, but he didn't have a choice. On top of that, he was miles away from Amity; the original place his Obsession had latched on to. It was getting harder and harder every day to wake up and remember where he was and why he was here. Now, three more people who had wormed their way into his life were leaving.

And maybe they would come back, but Danny wasn't sure _he_ would be here.

Págos was reaching tentatively through the link in their mind and Danny could feel the surprise and worry at the weight of emotions his human Bonded was fending off. Danny allowed the link to connect, taking a grain of strength and reassurance from the familiar presence. No matter who he had to leave behind, Págos would always be right there with him. No matter what.

"Yeah," Danny finally answered when he was sure he could sound normal. "Of course I know that."

Lisa looked at him unreadably for a moment, before she finally said, "Thank you for the present, Danny."

He looked away. "Yeah. No problem."

Silence fell on them for a few moments; neither comfortable nor awkward. Then, Jason cleared his throat. "Well, we should probably head on back." He said with a gesture at the clock that showed it was nearly two. "My parents wanted me packed a day early."

Clark groaned at very idea of returning to packing.

"You signed up for this," Danny reminded him.

The blonde shook his head. "I must've been under a spell."

Danny chuckled ominously. "I hope you're not calling Lisa a witch."

Lisa cackled cruelly while Jason added, "She _was_ the one to get you to sign up."

Clark took one look at the female of the quartet and shook his head rapidly: _not in a million years._

Págos chuckled. _Smart kid._

"Alright," Danny caught their attention, "I assume you'll be kidnapping me tomorrow?"

Lisa looked shocked at the very idea that he might assume otherwise. "Of course we are!"

"I'm still staying at the tower," Danny rubbed his neck nervously, "so you'll either have to call me or go there."

Considering how insistent Robin had been that he stay in the tower in the first place, Danny doubted his mind would be an easy one to change.

Of course, the rather mischievous smirk on Lisa's face didn't make him feel any better.

"I know that expression," Jason said slowly, "and it never means good things. Just what are you planning?"

"Who, me?" Lisa's voice was coated with false innocence. "Why, nothing!"

Danny groaned and shooed her out the door. "Go plan my impending doom elsewhere. I don't want to deal with it until tomorrow."

"Ah, spoil sport." Lisa retorted and stuck her tongue out at him.

Danny simply raised an eyebrow and she stopped, flushing.

"Who gave you sugar?"

"Shut up."

* * *

 **Hey, guys. Sorry that this chapter has taken so long. It just really didn't want to be written. I know it's also a bit ramble-y and nothing really happens, but these are scenes that have to be written.**

 **So, some of you really like Jason, Clark, and Lisa. I hope you don't get too mad that I'm pulling them out so soon, but it's because, while they're helping the story along now, they'll hinder it later. Which, by the way, is a direct parallel to Danny's character growth. They won't vanish completely, so don't worry about that, but they won't be around as much.**

 **If you're wondering why, then do me a favor. After the last chapter is posted, if you ask a question in a review I will answer it in a chapter titled** _ **Author's Reflection**_ **and post it here. It's sort of works like how the** _ **Frequently Asked Questions**_ **section in a book does. Anything you ask then will be answered, so feel free!**


	6. March of the Nutcrackers (Revolution)

Bloodstains – Chapter VI  
 _March of the Nutcrackers_

Danny was _running_. Running for his life. And apparently, American-ness. Págos panted next to him, fur fluffed up and eyes wide. The city around them looked like it was constructed out of old newspapers and the sky over head was literally a giant, red, blue, and white Union Jack.

"What kind of Britain is this?!" Danny shouted as he closed his eyes against the hundredth hypno-screen.

 _The better question is: what are_ _ **these**_ _things?!_ Págos yelped in his head as he dodged another swipe from the towering, red-suited _things_ chasing them.

Danny turned sharply around a darkened corner, praying that the sudden turn would lose their pursuers. The sound of heavy footsteps let him know that it failed and he panted, "I don't know. Horribly disfigured nutcrackers?"

Págos snarled as one of said disfigured nutcrackers nearly caught him, and whirled around to lash out at its outstretched hand. His claws left noticeable marks, but didn't do much damage. _Why did we leave the Tower again?_

His human Bonded shrugged, but Danny was more worried about that than he let on. He really _didn't_ remember leaving the Tower. He'd just opened his eyes and abruptly been on the streets of newspaper London, where everyone acted like a stereotypical Brit and called cookies, "biscuits". He _hated_ having his memories messed with, especially when he didn't know the cause of it.

Págos rumbled reassuringly, sensing Danny's worried mood. _I'm sure it's fine. Let's just focus on finding the Titans._

Something white rolled unsteadily across the street in front of them and Danny snatched at it once he realized it was a newspaper. His breath caught at the headline and he stumbled a step. "Don't bother. I think I already have."

Staring back at him was a very old, but very recognizable Robin.

* * *

 _Earlier that day…_

"Are we sure we should be letting him teach history?" Danny asked as he watched Beast Boy act out a rather humorous, but semi-accurate rendition of the reason for the American Revolution. Starfire was watching intently, while the others were simply staring incredulously. The massive grid on the TV, showing a few different locations in Jump, was going unnoticed in the commotion. Flags and sparklers in every image gave one a clue as to the date: July 4th, Independence Day.

"Er, no." Robin answered after he'd regained control over his disbelief. Danny nodded, as though satisfied with that answer, and snatched a few burgers and hot dogs off the plate Cyborg was offering. Págos eyed him expectantly, and Danny obligingly fed him some while he dove into the rest.

Thoughtfully tearing into a burger, Págos hummed, _I still don't really understand the excitement over all of this._

Danny shrugged and patted the tiger's head. _Yes, well, I've done a terrible job of explaining it to you then. It's just people being patriotic._

Disgruntled, Págos replied, _I understand that. It's sort of like when a territory is claimed. Any tiger would defend it and be proud of it, but we wouldn't need all of this… celebration to do that._

The halfa sighed. _It's a human thing, Págos._

 _All of you are weird._ The tiger decided, and curled up in place once he finished the last of the offered food, content to ignore the festivities around him.

"So they decided, 'Revolution'!" Beast Boy concluded theatrically, obviously satisfied with his tale of American history.

Raven stared at him. "Where'd you learn history? A cereal box?"

"What's your point?" Beast Boy replied defensively. Danny laughed at Raven's expression, wondering if someone could look more exasperated. Págos looked up to see what was so amusing, and offered a toothy grin of his own.

Ignoring the odd moment, Robin spoke up. "Okay, the fireworks should be starting in five…"

Danny grinned and moved to stand in line with the Titans. Fireworks were always his favorite part of the Fourth of July, especially if they were done right. "Four..." He chorused with the others, watching the countdown on screen. "Three… two…"

He yelped and jerked back when the screen dissolved into static. Startled by his sudden move, Págos leapt protectively to his feet, snarling at the face that appeared on screen. He was noticeably elderly, with a bald head ringed with only a fringe of grey hair and thin, rectangular sunglasses balanced on his nose. Danny narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar figure, alarms ringing in his head.

"Hello, my duckies!" The man crowed in a thick Cockney accent. Starfire gasped in shock and drifted up defensively while Robin announced warningly, "Mad Mod!"

Danny blinked. Mad Mod? Really? Did most villains go around announcing their own insanity to the world?

"Sorry to interrupt," Mad Mod continued with a sickly grin and not sounding sorry at all, "but your revolution will not be televised."

The view of him adjusted and Danny's eyes were drawn to the black cane in his hand, topped with a ruby red gem. "Matter of fact," Mad Mod continued, twirling his cane, "it's been outright cancelled- as in, it never happened!"

Danny staggered backwards, clutching at his head. Every sound suddenly seemed infinitely louder. Págos growled next to him, crouching and shaking his head. The two went unnoticed by the Titans, who were focused on their on-screen enemy. Mad Mod leaned forward, raising the gem into plain view-

And everything went black.

* * *

Danny hissed, stumbling a bit as he remembered the skull-shattering pain that had torn through him. His mind was on fire with the memory of that cane, and something in him felt sickened. He panted and stumbled into a shadowed alleyway, sinking down against the walls. He'd lost his pursuers sometime in his recollection and Págos was watching him with concern from his place guarding the mouth of the alley.

Too exhausted to reassure him, Danny leaned his head back against the surprisingly cool paper and allowed his eyes to close. The pain in his head was making it difficult to think, but he knew he'd seen that cane before- or at least, something like it. But what?

His answer came in the form of a flash of a bright red staff and a chilling cackle. Danny's breath caught and he reluctantly opened his eyes. "Maybe," he said slowly, "we shouldn't find the Titans."

Págos looked at him incredulously. _You want us to sit here and do nothing while Jump City has been turned into early 20_ _th_ _century London? And the doggy training version of it at that?_

His mouth feeling distinctly dry, Danny sighed. "That gem, Págos… it's ectoranium-diluted xenothium." His eyes closed again, as though to shut out bad memories. "That's the same thing Freakshow's crystal ball had in it. The thing is, that this stuff isn't in liquid form- it's a heck of a lot more powerful the way it is. All we have to do is so much as be in the same _room_ as the stuff and-"

 _Instant mind control._ Págos concluded grimly.

Danny nodded. "Over ghosts, at least." He sighed. "The only thing we _can_ do is sit here and do nothing."

As though sensing the inevitable, Págos huffed out a gust of air. _But… it's morning on July 5_ _th_ _. If they could handle it…_

"They would have by now." He bumped the back of his head against the wall, as though the act would give him any ideas. "We know Robin is being held in the same room where Mad Mod is, so we're no help there."

 _But,_ Págos suggested, _these guards sure seem to love to chase us._

Danny blinked. "A distraction? That might work, provided we can get enough of them away from Mad Mod's 'palace'. These things are sturdy enough that I feel like even the Titans'll have problems." He contemplated the idea for another moment, before nodding decisively and getting to his feet. "We still have to find Starfire and the others first, come on."

Feeling a bit less useless, Danny crept carefully out of the alleyway. _Now, if we were the Titans, where would we go?_

 _There hasn't been a lot of commotion lately._ Págos commented. _Aside from our own, of course._

 _So, someplace quiet. To make a plan._ He agreed, and tried to remember places like that he'd seen during his mad dash around the remodeled Jump. If he'd needed to regroup, he would've probably chosen someplace out of the way and low, where most people normally didn't go. Hopefully near something louder, which would drown out any sounds he'd make, but had enough of an echo to let him hear someone else coming. _So… an old building near a factory?_ He offered.

Págos shook his head. _No, Jump's too industrialized for that, even with every building turned into paper. Maybe… some place low to the ground?_

Danny's eyes widened. _Like under the bridge over the bay. If they're close enough to the wall, the… whatever they are- soldiers, I guess- won't even be able to see them from the street, nor would they fit under there._

 _And if not, it's a good place to spot them_. Págos agreed. _We'll have a clear view of the city._

The halfa crept towards the nearest street carefully and looked around for any more of the robotic soldiers. _You know, I swear I know what those should actually be called_.

 _Think about it later_. His bonded snorted as he darted across the street, startling a few of the 'British' citizens. _Which way is the bridge again?_ He asked, pausing mid-stride to look around.

Danny joined him and then, unfortunately, shrugged. _The city looks too different for me to tell. And considering that the sky is a giant_ _ **flag**_ _I won't be directing us that way either._

Págos growled and sat down. _So, we're lost._

The black-haired teen rolled his eyes. _You're a_ _ **ghost**_ _, genius. Fly up._

Looking a little embarrassed, Págos slipped into the next alleyway and did just that. The chain around his neck glowed a gentle white, signaling that it was using extra power to hide the ghost tiger's spiking ecto-signature.

 _Well?_ Danny asked after a minute. The tiger swooped down in answer and lifted him up to the rooftops, to make getting around easier.

 _I found it. This way_. Pagos instructed, leaping easily over the gaps between buildings.

Danny found himself torn between laughing, grinning, and rolling his eyes. _So we're doing this_ _Assassin's Creed_ _style, huh?_

Pagos huffed. _Shut up. It's faster than dodging the Beefeaters._

One stumble later, Danny was glaring accusingly at his Bonded. _You knew what the nutcrackers were called the whole time!_

The tiger sent him an exasperated glance. _No, I didn't. You're were thinking about it and I got the feedback from your memories._

Danny blinked. _Oh._

Págos's mental sigh echoed through his head. _Yeah: 'oh'._

The halfa ignored the comment and glanced at the street while gauging his next jump. People were milling about below, and the occasional Beefeater appeared among the crowd. The hypnotized citizens ignored the nutcracker-like guards, while the Beefeaters themselves were on prowl for any trouble. _They're probably looking for us,_ Danny pointed.

 _Or the Titans_ , Págos agreed. _Either way, the rooftops are our best bet._

 _Provided no one looks up_ , the blue-eyed teen muttered in reply.

Still, the trip took longer than he would have liked. The city wasn't conveniently constructed for a teenager and his pet tiger to go free running in. They had to stop to fly to taller buildings, or lay low whenever the Beefeaters searched the roofs. Other times, they had to take long detours, or drop into back alleys to weave around crowded or watched streets.

 _They're settling down again._ Danny interrupted the long silence with a gesture towards the street. Págos paused to peer over the edge of the rooftop he was on, tail flicking with interest.

 _This is the third time,_ the tiger commented. _The Titans must be up to something._

Danny nodded. _Or, at least enough to get their attention,_ he frowned, _but if they're fanning out to search, it means that the Titans have failed three times. They must be hiding now._

Págos let out a low growl at the though and lifted his massive head towards the sky. The Union Jack had darkened enough that they could take guess at it being mid-evening. _And we're not even close to the bridge yet._

The halfa sighed and sat back on his heels. _Maybe,_ he mused, _we're going about this wrong. If an army can't find the Titans, I doubt they're at the bridge anyway._ He gestured towards the tanks rolling through the streets. _It'll be nearly impossible to find them if they don't want to be found._ He smirked. _Thankfully, we have the world's best tracker on our side._

Págos straightened smugly at the comment. _You want me to sniff them out?_

Danny shook his head. _No, that'll take too long. Try to find the most recent site of any battle. Their scents will probably be all over that place._

The tiger dipped his head in agreement and lifted his head, turning into the wind to help strengthen any fresh scents. They sat for only a moment before the tiger leapt to the ground. _This way. It'll be faster to stick to the shadows._

Danny jumped more cautiously down after him and trailed after his focused Bonded. The streets and alleys turned out to be easier to maneuver, but they had to freeze any time a Beefeater came close and lost precious time doing so.

However, luck was on their side.

 _Is… that a hole in the road?_ Danny asked as Págos risked darting out into the open to investigate.

The tiger shook his head in bemusement. _The Titans' scents are all over this._

 _It's… a hole in the road._ The halfa deadpanned in response.

Págos snorted at him. _Think about it later._ He bounded down the street, tracking with purpose. _I've got their trail, come on._

The scents led them through darkened alleyways and far too exposed streets- which the Bonded pair took with caution- until they finally came across a familiar building, even in black and white. The gates were slightly ajar and a wooden sign lay on the ground next to it. Danny, curious, walked over and flipped the sign over with the toe of his shoe.

"Closed by order of King Mod."

He glanced back up at the building as Págos paced, checking to make sure the scent trail really ended here. "Must be City Hall."

 _Why come here?_ Págos asked, striding over to stand by his heels watchfully.

"Because 'good, proper Brits' won't come here," Danny answered. "Not when Kind Moddy the First has them nice and hypnotized." He gestured towards the surrounding buildings. "See? Not a single hypnoscreen. There's no need for them here."

He shoved the gate open, which thankfully didn't squeal on its hinges, and put the sign back up after shutting it firmly behind him. He'd rather not have the Beefeaters figure out where they were any sooner than necessary.

However, brazenly walking in turned out to be a mistake.

"Whoa!" Danny yelped and reared back when he was suddenly faced with four out of five Titans all on the offensive. "Hey!"

Págos snarled and crouched; completely ready to defend his human Bonded to the death.

Raven recognized him first. "Danny?"

"Yes," said teen confirmed in a rush. "Now, _please_ put the weapons down? Págos isn't very happy about it."

Looking a bit sheepish, the group of four did so.

"Thanks."

"Dude," Beast Boy asked immediately, "where have you been?" He paused, "And why aren't you hypnotized like everyone else?"

"Oh, you know," Danny waved a lazy hand at the door, "running away from killer nutcrackers."

"You did just disappear on us." Cyborg pointed out after a moment of thought.

Danny balked. "Really?" The back of his neck was tingling, but Danny resisted the urge to rub at it. Stupid nervous tick. "I don't remember that. I must've snapped out the hypnosis later on."

Raven eyed him suspiciously. "You should still remember what happened while you were hypnotized; even if it's fuzzy."

The teen cursed inwardly and remained silent, offering only a shrug in response.

Págos shifted. _Shouldn't we be more focused on rescuing Robin?_

Danny glanced at the tiger and voiced this thought aloud.

The four Titans in the room immediately dropped into low spirits. Danny blinked in surprise at the one-eighty. They looked like they'd already given up.

 _They're the only people this city has left!_ He thought angrily. _They_ _ **can't**_ _give up._

 _But it looks like all of their plans have failed,_ Págos pointed out. _That would bring most spirits down._

"We're dealing with a scrawny little stick-man with a tricked-out cane!" Cyborg ranted in frustration, "Why can't we bring him down?!"

"Size is no measure of power," Danny reminded quietly.

Starfire, who had wandered over to the copy of the Declaration of Independence by this point, turned to face them. "Because the Mad Mod was right."

"The American Revolution really was a hoax?" Beast Boy asked, leaping to his feet.

Danny groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. _"No,"_ he said with emphasis.

"He said, 'those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it'." She looked towards the display. "We have failed to learn from the history Mad Mod is attempting to rewrite. Your democracy is not merely about voting. It is about compromise. Out of many different people, you make one country. Out of many flawed ideas, you create one that works."

"We didn't need four different plans," Cyborg realized.

"We just need one." Raven finished.

 _Well, that explains a few things._ Págos snorted.

Danny swatted at him. _Hush._

"So, how are we going to do this?"

The Titans turned to stare at him. "We?" Cyborg repeated in surprise.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Not in a million years is there _anything_ you can say to get me to sit this one out." He gestured sharply towards the door. "That's my brother out there. I'm helping." He finished firmly.

Págos eyed him. _For someone determined not to get attached-_

 _Don't._ Danny stopped him with a hint of defeat. _I know. Just… don't._

A wave of sympathy was sent across the link, which Danny found the energy to appreciate. Trying to fight one's Obsession was like try to fill a broken bucket with water: impossible.

The Titans exchanged a glance. "Look, Danny," Raven began, "I understand that you want to help, but-"

Danny crossed his arms and cut her off. "You can either let me help, or let me do something stupid enough I'm liable to get myself killed." Any protests halted at that. "Take your pick."

Starfire watched him thoughtfully. "I would like to cast a vote of letting friend Danny assist us in Robin's rescue."

Both Bonded blinked in surprise at the unexpected support, but Danny sent her a grateful glance.

Cyborg still looked uncertain, but Raven evidently decided that now was not the time for an argument. "Fine. Then let's come up with a plan."

* * *

 _This might be the stupidest thing I've ever done._ Danny muttered inwardly as he crept through the hypnotized throng of people.

The 'loyal British citizens' were stretched down the sidewalk, facing the street numbly like good puppets. A long line of mechanical redcoats marched down the street, with a moving platform, supported by a union flag balloon, and carrying none other than Mad Mod down at the far end. He was taping one foot to the parade music and waving at his… 'adoring' crowd. A catbird seat, covered by an awning, was nestled towards the back of the platform and Danny could see Robin sitting in the back from this angle. He was struggling to get up, but held back by- what Danny presumed to be- the fact that he was unused to the differing requirements of old age.

Págos huffed from his place trotting next to Danny. _Then you should have tried harder to argue the values of us acting as distractions._

 _Yes,_ the halfa agreed with a nervous swallow, _I should have._

That idea had been promptly shut down by the Titans with no room for argument and, since Danny wasn't about to explain why he was the _last_ person who needed protecting, he'd had no way to defend himself. Instead, the plan was for him to wait for Mad Mod to be distracted, and then to snatch the cane away from the false king.

This was a terrible idea for multiple reasons. First and foremost being that Danny was the only person who could be affected by the damn thing without Mod having to do a single thing. He could already feel the weight of it pressing down on his mind, slowing his movements and thoughts and making it difficult to separate reality from the mind-numbing sensation of complete and utter mental domination.

Just a few more steps forward and Págos hissed and drew back, shaking his head fiercely. He sent Danny an unhappy glance. _I- I can't…_

 _It's fine,_ he reassured the tiger, _go to the rooftops; watch the battle. Jump in if anyone needs help._

The snow-furred jungle cat nodded and reluctantly and backed away, watching him with concern for another moment, before turning and vanishing into the shadows. He could still feel the link thrumming between them and, as Págos drew farther away, it opened up more. The tiger was trying to ground him: offering sanity and clarity the closer he drew to the dreaded gem.

Danny sent him a wave of appreciation as the weight on his mind eased some. Hopefully, this would be enough to keep his thoughts clear. It was a struggle to fend off the darkness and he wasn't even next to the cane itself yet. _Hopefully holding it will dilute this some_. He prayed, recalling the brief shatter of clarity from atop a moving train- what felt like a very long time ago.

He drew closer to the moving platform, each step feeling more of a struggle. By the time he was moving parallel with it, he was relying completely upon the clarity of thought from Págos.

 _Wait for the distraction and get the cane away from Mad Mod._ Págos kept repeating to him. _Wait for the distraction and get the cane away from Mad Mod._

"Wait for the distraction and get the cane away from Mad Mod." Danny muttered under his breath in time with the tiger.

Mod had turned to face Robin, saying something that Danny couldn't overhear in his haze. However, he did catch when Mod whipped around as a series of explosions rattled the street. The people around Danny stiffened and then stirred and began to walk away, coming out of their own brainwashing as the hypnoscreens were destroyed.

The Titans had arrived.

Mad Mod scowled and swiped his cane through the air.

Danny froze in place, his blue eyes flashing red as- with a fierce snap of pain- the mental link between himself and Págos was cut off like a dam closing. He hissed and went down hard on his knees, clutching at his head.

 _Wait…_

The darkness was proceeding rapidly now, chewing its way through his clear thoughts. Something was pounding in the back of his mind, but he couldn't remember what it was.

 _Wait. Distraction. Cane._

Dual colored eyes- one red, one blue- flicked up to look at a floating platform. A man with grey skin, dressed in a large blue sphere colored like the sky above, was standing there… holding a cane tipped with red.

He hesitated, torn. One part of his mind was urging him to get the cane as quick as he could, but another part of it was informing him that he wasn't _supposed_ to have the cane.

The grey-skinned man was moving now, getting ready to fire some weapon and- as he moved- Danny caught sight of an aged figure in the back. An image of a far younger person, who he somehow knew were one and the same, flashed through his mind and something deeply ingrained in him _pulled_.

 _Now!_

The red-eyed teen dashed forward and allowed the _pull_ to force him to move. Something false in his mind screamed at him: _Wrong, wrong, wrong!_

He ignored it.

Five feet-

The older man in the back caught sight of him, starting in surprise. His masked gaze seemed fixed on Danny's face- his eyes- but the teen couldn't find it within him to care about why. His full attention was fixed on the cane in the grey man's grip.

Two feet-

He just had to _get to it_. The grey man turned when he finally noticed the red-eyed teen, but it was too late.

Danny _lunged_ and wrapped one hand around the black stick of the cane. The other man shouted, but he didn't care because the darkness on his mind was _writhing_ \- and nothing was clear, but that incessant feeling of wrongness didn't know what to do anymore-

And the force of the jump tore the cane from the man's hand and he slammed to a halt on the edge of awning, grunting in pain. There was a soft sound to his left and red eyes turned to meet the masked gaze of the man in the chair. Something in his mind shattered and a voice roared:

 _GIVE IT TO HIM!_

A link both forgotten and new thrummed and the teen obeyed, handing the ruby-tipped cane to the older man. The darkness returned abruptly and the humming bond was silenced. Danny sank to the floor, dazed.

A flash of dazzling light forced him to cover his eyes, but not even the ugly snap of the cane's black support could drag his mind free. Instead, Danny groaned as the diverted energy of the red jewel was suddenly refocused onto him. His mind _ached_ and he couldn't understand why he's fighting so hard, but he knew he _had_ to. A laugh echoed in his head, the voice and the impressions it brought with it digging up hatred for something he couldn't even remember.

And suddenly, there was a voice calling his name.

"Danny? Danny!"

He forced himself to look up, red eyes muddled with pain, and the faint _pull_ he'd felt before instantly felt relief as it looked upon the younger face of the old man. Danny hissed as another throb ran through his mind, and the young-old man dropped the pieces of the cane.

The teen's eyes followed the pieces down and he lunged for the red jewel out of sheer instinct, toppling off the platform and hitting the ground hard. He scrambled to his feet and the other five on the platform chased after him.

Danny blinked uncertainly when he realized that he was clutching the top half of the broken cane close.

 _Break it._ That cool, promising voice from before instructed. Danny whipped towards the roofs and, with keen eyes, found a pure white tiger loping towards him. _Break it._

He's not sure why, but he does.

He whirled, and the red gem shattered upon impact with the ground. Danny groaned and stumbled away from the shards as the darkness faded with abrupt intensity and his clarity of mind is suddenly forced back into place. Págos is by his side in an instant, offering him a soft, warm side of white fur to lean against.

 _Thanks_ , Danny said mentally as he sank on to the ground.

"Ugh," he groaned as he blinked open ice blue eyes, "I hate that stuff."

Unfortunately, he's greeted with the sight of five wary and confused Titans staring at him, and one dethroned king staring at the pieces of his cane.

 _Well… this won't turn out well._

* * *

"Ow," Danny hissed as he was rushed into the living room atop Titan's tower, "watch the head!"

He was rather surprised that he wasn't being shoved into an interrogation room, but maybe he'd earned points for non-suspicious behavior over the last week. Págos was trailing angrily behind the group. The Titans wouldn't let him get closer than ten feet to Danny and the ghost tiger was _furious_. Even more so, since Danny refused to let him do anything about it in fear of antagonizing the Titans more.

Robin's response was one word. "Explain."

Danny winced at the order. There was no getting out of this. He hesitated, grimacing slight. Maybe it was best to be blunt? Couldn't hurt to try. He hoped.

"Look, that red gem that I broke? It was ectoranium-diluted xenothium."

The Titans stiffened in unison at x-word.

 _Well, at least they know what half of it was._ Danny reflected dryly.

He continued when no one else said anything. "In non-science-y terms, it's mind control."

"No one else was affected by it." Robin retorted flatly.

Danny scoffed. "The _entire city_ was affected by it. Where do you think Mod's hypnosis came from? He was just using the cane itself to channel it differently." He shifted slightly. "It would be better to say that no one else was affected by it like _I_ was."

"Why were you affected differently?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah, man. Your eyes were glowing _red._ " Cyborg added.

The halfa was suddenly feeling rather tired at the reminder. "Because, ectoranium-diluted xenothium is a form of mind control for anyone who has ectoplasm running through them. Red eyes is the only visible sign of it, aside from a drastic change in behavior. A bonus to his for the mind controller is that the mind controlee also doesn't remember anything afterwards."

"That's why you wanted to be part of the distraction," Raven realized, "it's distance related. They closer you are to it, the worse it gets."

"Distance is a factor," Danny admitted, "it's stronger the closer I am, but really I just have to be able to see it and-" he stopped, looking away with a glare. Talk about a weakness. Just one unprepared glance and he was an obedient servant.

"Wait," Robin backtracked, sounding caught off-guard. "Ectoplasm. As in ghosts?"

Beast Boy yelped. "Ghosts?"

"Ghosts aren't real," Cyborg argued. "No way, no how."

Danny sighed at the familiar conversation. "Look, whether ghosts are real or not isn't important right now," he looked back at his brother, "but yes- as in ghosts. The people who adopted me," he ignored the starts of surprise from the others- what had they expected?- "were ghost hunters. They had a lab downstairs and everything." He shrugged. "I got into an accident down there one day," which was completely putting it lightly, "and ever since then I've set off all sorts of ghost-related things. Tracking devices, sensors… anything that affects ghosts, affects me. Including ectoranium-diluted xenothium."

Man. He needed to come up with a shorter name for that stuff.

"Shouldn't having ectoplasm in you, you know, be deadly?" Beast Boy asked. None of them looked very convinced with his story.

Danny scowled and, muttering under his breath, stalked past them towards the kitchen. They seemed instantly on guard, but no one moved to stop him.

At least, not until he reached into the drawers and pulled out a knife. He focused on shoving his ghostly core down as far as possible in order to reduce the amount of active ectoplasm floating around in his bloodstream. No need for them to know exactly how much of the stuff was in his system.

"What are you-"

Robin cut himself off when Danny held his hand over the sink, palm up, and brought the knife down. Págos was at his side instantly, alarm running through him, as Danny hissed in pain when the sharp edge bit into his flesh. The resulting cut was shallow enough to hurt, but not to bleed too badly.

"Here," he said and offered the blood-covered knife to the Titans who were now standing around him with evident concern. "Test this in whatever lab I'm sure you have here. The results will say it's oh-so-much percent blood and the rest is an unknown substance; also known as ectoplasm."

Robin took the knife gingerly and Danny felt the oddest sense of regret coming from the masked Titan.

 _You_ _ **did**_ _just cut yourself with a knife to prove a point._ Págos pointed out. _He's your brother. He's probably thinking that he should trust you more than this._

 _Bond can be deceiving,_ Danny murmured in reply, thinking of a particular billionaire. Págos huffed, conceding the point.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Danny practically growled, not in the best of moods with a cluster of bad memories following him around like storm clouds, "I'm going to sleep." He stalked towards the door, ignoring the feeling of a drop of blood working its way out of the cut and down his fingers. "Ectoranium-diluted xenothium-induced mind control tends to leave one with history's worst headache."

No one argued as the door hissed shut behind the Bonded pair.

* * *

 **Whew, two in one day! Not bad after being stuck for a few months, I think.**

 **Now, I have a couple of reviews I'd like to address.**

 **To** Guest of honor **: Sorry, but you'll have to wait a few chapters to find out. Things are going to come to light slowly as the story pans out. However, I** _ **have**_ **already dropped a few hints about what happens in one year.**

 **As for the guest reviewer who mentioned that Danny and Robin should be able to speak Romani: I didn't see Romani listed when I looked up the languages that Robin is able to speak, so I decided to leave it off. There is a chance that he never learned it in the first place.**


	7. The Fears that Linger

Bloodstains – Chapter VII  
 _The Fears that Linger_

"I'm telling you it's fine," Danny assured the vaguely irritated Goth. "The project's not due for another two weeks anyway. I'll have it done in time."

" _Fine,"_ Sam's resigned tone echoed back over the Fenton Phone in his ear. _"But it's your grade, Danny. And you know your parents-"_

"Have already given me the standard lecture," Danny interrupted. Then he shook his head with a sigh and conceded, "I'm almost done patrolling. Maybe the three of us could work on them tonight?"

The voices of his two best friends sounded in agreement over the line, and then went quiet. Danny rolled lazily in the air to drift slowly on his back. A gentle breeze pulled at his white locks as he watched the buildings below him slowly be washed with the amber light of the sunset. A satisfied smile tugged at his lips. "Another good day," he chuckled to himself. Amity sat sleepy and silent; peaceful after a standard day of ghost activity.

 _Don't jinx it._ Págos grumbled in his mind. Danny rolled his eyes at the tiger, who was basking in the sunlight from his place atop a nearby billboard.

 _Ready to head back?_

Págos huffed a sigh. _No._

 _C'mon. I told Sam and Tucker we could all work on the projects after our patrol._ Danny reminded, well aware that the ghost must have heard him before.

Sulking, the jungle cat rose into a sitting position and shot him a glare without any real heat. _I was comfortable!_ He complained.

"And you'll have plenty of time to sunbathe- later," the half a retorted and flew over to shove the reluctant ghost in the direction of Sam's house.

 _Alright, alright._ Págos muttered and batted at his hand. _I'm going. It's not like_ _ **I'm**_ _the one with homework._

But Danny wasn't listening anymore.

"No," he whispered, the blood draining from his face. Ice gripped at his insides and his senses screamed at him. His core rolled and thrashed, his stomach churned, and his lungs couldn't seem to get enough air.

Because those Signals- the ones he clung to so tightly- those threads that his world revolved around were gone.

They were gone.

And it wouldn't matter how fast he flew, or how hard he fought.

They were gone.

He was too late.

They were gone.

He failed.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Lisa," Danny complained into the phone. "I'm fine. Stop worrying!"

" _It_ _ **has**_ _been three days."_ Jason's ever-rational voice pointed out from the other side of the connection. Danny was currently sitting on the sofa in the Titan's gigantic living room. Págos was stretched near his feet, basking in the afternoon heat coming in through the large windows.

" _Mad Mod took over the city!"_ Lisa exclaimed. _"You can't honestly expect me not to worry, can you?"_

"Yes!" Danny answered exasperatedly, in time with an equally exasperated Jason and Clark.

Their answer was a miffed sound from Lisa. _"So sorry for being concerned about your health. Next time a villain takes over Jump, I'll remember_ _ **not to care**_ _."_

"Look, the Titans took care of it. Págos and I were in perfectly good hands the whole time." Danny winced slightly at the lie, but it would make Lisa feel better. Besides, everything turned out alright in the end.

" _I suppose…"_ Lisa conceded, sounding slightly appeased by the reminder that the Titans were taking good care of the youngest of their quartet.

"Great!" Danny exclaimed to dismiss the conversation. "So, how's Wisconsin?"

" _Cold!"_ Three voices chorused and Clark tacked on, _"How did you ever stand living up here?"_

The halfa snorted. "I pity the three of you. It's July there. What's the temperature, seventy-six?"

" _Sixty-two,"_ Jason corrected.

Danny frowned. "Huh. July's typically the warmest month." He shook his head, dismissing the thought. "Besides, January's the month you're really going to want to call cold."

" _Great,"_ Lisa deadpanned.

"Alright," Danny chuckled. "Ignoring the weather, how's Wisconsin?"

" _Pretty good, actually."_ Clark answered.

" _We're staying in these apartments that the Program is paying for."_ Lisa explained. _"They're nothing special, but it's not a bad place to call home for the school year."_

" _Whoever is funding this program must have some serious cash to pay for twenty-four students to live in separate apartments."_ Jason added.

"Especially considering how expensive things are in Jump, with all the villains and such." Danny agreed. "You guys have any ideas?"

" _No,"_ Clark answered. _"Never asked."_

" _It might be on the packet we got. I can check later,"_ Lisa suggested.

"Mm," Danny hummed in agreement, distracted. He was alone in the tower right now. In front of him, the massive TV had been set to Jump's news channel, which was currently displaying a battle between the Titan's and Dr. Light. Of course, by 'battle', he meant 'arrest', as the villain had taken one look at Raven and turned _himself_ in.

"Anything interesting happening over there?" Danny asked while keeping his gaze fixed on the screen. Just in case.

" _No,"_ Clark moaned. _"Not a single monster or anything. I never realized how_ _ **boring**_ _the rest of the world is."_

Danny snorted. "Only you, Clark. Only you."

" _As much as I'd love to listen to you two argue about whether the quiet life is better or not,"_ Jason interrupted, _"I have to finish unpacking."_ There was a moment of brief silence. _"And I happen to know for a fact that you aren't even close to done."_

Clark's unwilling groan was the only confirmation the rest of the quartet needed. Lisa sighted and Danny could just imagine her shaking her head. _"I swear, you are completely hopeless."_

"Not _completely_." Danny corrected with a grin.

" _Besides, no one else finishes unpacking in the first three hours, Lisa."_

" _It took five, for your information."_ She sniffed haughtily in response.

" _Oh, pardon me. How dare I be two hours off?"_

" _Ugh,"_ Clark groaned. _"Alright already."_

"I agree." Danny teased. "Is it really necessary to subject Clark and me to your flirting?"

" _We're not flirting!"_

Danny burst out laughing at Jason and Lisa's in sync reply. "Is that what we used to sound like?" He wondered aloud. "No wonder the rest of the school never believed us."

Págos chuffed from his spot on the floor, looking highly amused. _Wish I'd been around to see that._

 _And live through your incessant nagging?_ Danny shot back jokingly. _No thanks._

 _I do not nag._

 _If you say so._

 _I do_ _ **not nag**_ _._

Danny just shook his head at the tiger while listening to Jason and Lisa's defensive splutters. "Alright, I have to go check on the store now. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

" _Same time!"_ Lisa reminded while Clark and Jason bid chorused, "later!"

"Same time," the halfa agreed. "Bye."

 _Feel better?_ Págos asked as he hung up the phone.

The teen scowled in response. "Yes, Págos. Thank you for reminding me of the _wonderful_ dream I had last night."

 _You're thinking about it anyway,_ the tiger retorted unrepentantly. _And you know suppressing doesn't work for you._

"It's been working just fine for two years." He snapped in response and stalked toward the elevator.

Págos chased after him, tail swinging with irritation. _It worked while Jason, Clark, and Lisa were around. You haven't had a nightmare like that since-_

"I'm well aware of how long it's been!" Danny interrupted loudly. Págos stopped, staring at him in surprise, and then sighed.

 _I'm sorry._

"I don't want to discuss it." Danny answered frigidly. "There's nothing I can do to change what happened."

 _I know that,_ the tiger said.

"Then why do you bring it up every chance you get?!" The halfa bit it response. He clenched his fists tightly, struggling to contain the instincts rolling in him. His long-dormant core churned in aggravation at the memories lurking in the back of his mind.

 _Because I'm worried!_ Págos argued back. _You can't hide your mind from me! I know how badly it affects you, but all you do is shrug it off like-_

He stopped and Danny whirled, eyes blazing bright green. "Like what? Like I'm not about to go insane? Like my mind isn't trying to tear itself in two? Like I'm not fully aware of what's happening to me? Like I don't know what happens to ghosts who fail to fulfill their Obsessions? Like I think I'm the exception?"

 _Like you've already given up!_ Págos snarled. _Like you've quit! Like you're trying to pretend those ten years of your life never existed!_

"Well maybe I am!" He snapped. "This is my life now. Here. In Jump. No ghosts. No fights. No new scars. Just the Lounge, and Jason, Clark, Lisa, and you. Not Amity."

 _And Robin? Sam? Tucker? The Fentons? Are you just going to ignore all of that, too? Your entire past? Are you going to spend the rest of your life as Nathaniel Dane?_

"What do you want me to do? Going running back to Amity and be everyone's favorite ghost again? Put everyone I care about in danger and pretend that I can protect them?" Danny shouted in response, oblivious to the air temperature around him dropping rapidly.

 _I want you to stop running from your past! I_ _ **want**_ _you to be able to be yourself again! I want you to be able to look back in time and not struggle under the weight of the world!_

"Well, I CAN'T!" Danny exploded and, in the same instant, a ring of energy blasted outward and a sharp beeping pierced the argument. Págos ducked as the furniture in the room rocked and one of the large windows shattered. The halfa brought his wrist up, startled, and pushed back his sleeve to expose the white band on his wrist. A red light flashed in sync with a high pitched beep and Danny took a deep breath and forced his frothing ghost core back into slumber. The temperature in the room rose as he tightened the reins on his temper and the beeping stopped as the red light turned back a steady blue.

Tense silence filtered through the room as the duo stared each other down. Finally Págos sighed and forced himself to relax. He looked away and thought quietly, _I want you to be who you want to be._

"That Danny's dead." He answered coldly. "So it doesn't matter anymore."

 _You don't believe that._ Págos challenged lifting his head to calmly look at him. _Look me in the eye and tell me that it doesn't matter. That everything you've ever been through- that your family and friends, your memories and experiences… that none of that matters._

The halfa inhaled, looked the ghost in the eye, and repeated flatly. "It doesn't matter."

Except, you can't lie in your mind.

He scowled and stomped away. "I'm going out."

And for the first time since they'd met, Págos didn't follow.

* * *

Guilt.

That was what kept nagging at him. All throughout the night and into the next day.

Danny had felt he had to _cut himself_ in order to prove his point. The sad thing was, he was right.

The Titans- no, _Robin_ had turned so quickly on the teen. It could easily be pointed out that they'd had plenty of reason to have been suspicious, but it could also be argued that Danny had wanted to help rescue Robin. In fact, he'd threatened them into allowing him to help. And he went along with the plan despite knowing how the ectoranium-diluted xenothium would affect him.

Yes, they'd let him explain rather than simply locking him up, but Robin could still feel the guilt eating at him. Danny had offered him a branch of trust when he'd admitted right off what, exactly, Págos was. He taken Robin's new lifestyle in stride, admitted to how he felt about it, and still forgave him. He didn't even ask any questions about it, despite how any other sibling would naturally want to know what had happened to the other in the years they had been apart. But rather than simply avoiding it, Danny had said that he _wouldn't_ ask- because he knew that there were things Robin wouldn't be willing to discuss, or simply couldn't discuss. He taken the fact that the distance between- in years, at least- would likely remain, and still offered to be a part of one another's lives once again.

But the moment something had happened, rather than letting Danny volunteer to explain- not even giving him the _chance_ \- Robin had demanded an answer.

The cold tone in his brother's flat words were all the warning he needed. Danny had understood why the Titans had reacted as they did, and even cooperates with them, but he hadn't been exactly thrilled. What little they'd seen of the teen had been… unsettling. He'd been friendly enough and expressed no grudge against them, but he'd been closed off. The moment at his first breakfast with the Titan's when Robin thought Danny would share a piece of his past with them- something that had evidently not come up often or easily with his other friends; nothing like it had popped up again since. In fact, Danny avoiding discussing himself altogether. Mild conversation was fine, but he neither answered nor asked any personal questions.

It was like he was trying to maintain the distance between himself and the Titans.

Of course, that guilt hadn't stopped him from doing exactly what Danny had recommended. He'd been right about the sample. It had been ninety-eight-point-seven percent regular human blood and one-point-three percent an unknown substance.

Ectoplasm.

Since it was still in his blood stream after the accident Danny had talked about, which must have taken place at least two years ago, it meant that his body had to be making more of it, but he'd have to do a lot more testing to figure out why that was, and what the side effects of it were. He'd also need to know what, exactly, the accident was, but he somehow doubted _anyone_ had managed to get him to discuss the event, judging by the expression of Danny's face when he'd mentioned it.

"What happened to the window?"

Raven's voice snapped Robin out of his thoughts as they entered the living room of the tower. It looked exactly as they had left it, except the television was on- the news, it looked like- and a single window appeared as though it had been blasted out of its frame. Shards of glass littered the carpet. Págos sat near it, staring at the destruction. Robin hadn't quite learned how to read the tiger's moods and expressions yet, but the slumped posture spoke volumes.

 _Danny is… upset._

The regretful answer echoed in their heads and Robin started inwardly. Only Raven had taken the tiger's telepathy in stride. The rest of them were still attempting to get used to hearing the tiger's voice in their heads. Especially since said tiger typically preferred to communicate through Danny, rather than directly to them.

"So he decides to punch a window out?" Cyborg asked, sounding surprised.

Págos glanced at them and sighed aloud, a heavy sound. _There are things he doesn't like to be reminded about- much less discuss. I pressed too hard._

"I thought you were his familiar?" Robin questioned. The tiger laughed dryly.

 _That does not mean I know everything about him._ Págos shook his head. _I have only know my Bonded for two years. Our connection simply… lets me understand him better than most. We are…_ he trailed off for a moment, thinking. _We are two halves of one mind, one soul, but we are separate beings. We disagree, argue. But we always learn to find a middle ground. Neither of us will abandon the other, but…_

"When a Bonded pair fights," Raven explained as the tiger fell silent, "it leaves wounds on their soul. They literally share the same soul, and are more compatible a match than any other you will find in the world. They are made for each other. But, that doesn't mean they always get along." She paused and looked over at Robin. "I didn't mention this before, but… there's another name for Bonded pairs."

 _Tragic Ones._ Págos said shortly.

"Tragic Ones?" Beast Boy repeated. "That sounds bad."

"It is," Raven answered. "Because such a pair only exists when one or both can no longer exist on their own. Typically because one of them has lost the will to continue; lost their purpose in life."

Pipe dream. That was what Robin's hope that Danny had lived a semblance of a normal life was. A pipe dream. "What happened to Danny?" He asked, fighting back a sense of panic. He'd _just_ gotten his brother back. And yes, he wasn't sure where to go from there, but he didn't want _this_. "Does he know? About all of this?"

 _I don't know what happened to him._ Págos answered quietly. _Just that it's not over yet. As for whether or not he knows what it means to be a Bonded pair… yes, he's fully aware._ The tiger looked away. _And he knows what's happening to himself. But he's not doing anything to stop it._

"What is happening to friend Danny? Does he require the help of friends?" Starfire asked worriedly, approaching the tiger.

 _That depends on him._ Págos answered cryptically.

"He has to let us help him, but he has to be aware of it." Raven deduced easily.

 _Yes, but he has a… unique set of circumstances. The Accident affected him more than you are aware._

"Can you tell us?" Robin asked, though he knew it was pointless. The tiger would have done so already if he wanted to.

 _That is not my secret to share._ Págos answered. _But I can tell you this: his greatest fear is becoming attached. His greatest weakness is that he cannot help it. He greatest strength is that he would move the world to help those he cares for. His future depends on whether or not he can understand what his greatest enemy truly is. His fate will be determined by whether or not he become who he once was._

"We will help friend Danny," Starfire said with determination.

 _Don't treat him differently._ The tiger warned. _He won't take it well. It's his past he's running from. If you want to save him, rid him of his nightmares. Help him confront the demons in his shadow. Teach him to be honest with himself._

Robin glanced at the shattered window. "Danny…" – _he's not normal, is he?-_ "do you know where he is?"

Págos shook his head. _We are two halves of one soul, but that doesn't mean we cannot shield our minds from one another._ The tiger rose to his paws with a regretful grimace. _I must go find him sometime soon, if I'm ever going to be able to get him to forgive me._

"Impressive," Raven said dryly. "What did you do?"

 _Don't mistake Danny's troubles for him being unable to accept what happened in his past. He's well aware of it._ The snowy jungle cat warned. _In fact, he's_ _ **too**_ _well aware of it. He doesn't blame himself, or hold regrets. He simply can't let go._

"We'll help him." Robin assured the tiger.

Págos sighed and shook his head. _I hope you can. Whatever it is he's fighting with… it's not over yet._

"We'll help him." Robin repeated. Calm. Cool. Collected. Determined. They'd seen this with Terra, even if it had been her lack of control over her powers she'd been struggling with. He wasn't going to let it happen again. Not to Danny.

"Yeah, 'course we will." Beast Boy agreed, then paused. "Uh, but… how are you going to find him?"

 _I'll be able to track him._ Págos explained. _Danny's not truly angry with me, just conflicted. Besides, I've not left his side yet, and I'm not planning on doing so any time soon._

"Any last pieces of advice for us?" Cyborg questioned as the tiger padded towards the door.

Págos paused. _Yes._ He turned and stared at them, the intensity in his intelligent gaze unnerving. _Trust him. No matter what he may hide, or how he may react, he will always be on your side. Do this, and he will let you into his life._

* * *

Danny was ten miles outside of Jump City before he noticed where he was. He walked another five before he finally stopped moving. It was midnight before his mind finally decided to start working again.

"Damn it."

He slumped where he was sitting, resting his head in his hands and propping his elbows on his knees.

"I can't even stay mad at the stupid fur ball."

His fury had washed away in his hours of silence. Despite everything, Págos has meant well. It wasn't the tiger's fault he didn't know why Danny reacted so strongly whenever his past was mentioned. Págos didn't even know _why_ Danny had left Amity, much least what could have happened to put him where he was now.

Typically the tiger left well enough alone, but he'd slowly become more insistent over the years. Págos never asked Danny to tell him what had happened, but continued to argue that Danny needed to stop running. To stop trying to leave it all behind and to just "be himself" again.

What Págos didn't understand was that he _couldn't_.

Because the moment he did-

"You can come out, now." The teen sighed.

Págos approached him slowly, ears back and head lowered. The silence in his mind was telling.

"Stop acting like a skittish puppy," Danny instructed tiredly. "You _know_ I'm not mad at you."

 _But you_ _ **are**_ _hurt._ The tiger countered mournfully.

Danny rolled his eyes and gestured for the massive cat to come closer. Págos slumped into his lap and Danny felt himself relax almost instantly. The ache that had been throbbing in his muscles vanished as he stroked the tiger's head. Fighting with one's Bonded was never a pleasant experience for either party. It tore at the soul they shared and left scars, emotional, mental, and sometimes even physical.

Personally, he hated fighting more for Págos's sake than his own. The tiger would never admit it, but one of the reasons he was so protective of Danny was because he was terrified of being on his own. Like most ghosts, Págos didn't remember his previous life, but it had left him with a deep-rooted fear of abandonment. So much so, that his Obsession centered around it. The tiger couldn't stand seeing someone suffering from even minor loneliness. It was one of the driving forces of his concern for Danny.

"Yes," he conceded. "I'm hurt." Págos flinched under his touch. _But I'll be alright._ He sighted aloud and then admitted mentally. _It's my own fault. I've never told you what happened. I've barely told you anything about my past. You didn't even know I was adopted until Robin appeared._

 _Yes, but that doesn't matter._ The tiger dismissed easily. _I know who_ _ **you**_ _are. That's what matters._

 _But you don't regret that argument._ Danny thought knowingly.

Págos hesitated and Danny could feel his apprehension. Taking a deep breath, he sent a wave of reassurance at his familiar. He needed to deal with this with a level head. Losing his temper and shattering a window was _not_ how he should have responded earlier. A Bonded pair were called Tragic Ones for a reason. They could not live without one another. Each helped the other push forward in life- better themselves. Live long, happy lives. Págos was simply fulfilling his role as Danny's familiar as best he could.

 _No,_ Págos admitted. _You are suffering, despite however content you seem during the day. All of your nights are filled with terror and the memories you try to suppress. You need help- from someone. I cannot do this alone, but you push everyone else away._

Danny closed his eyes. _You told the Titans._

Págos shifted nervously and did not answer, but let Danny relive the conversation he'd had earlier. The halfa found himself rather grateful for the disorientation that came with reliving memories, as you actually lived through them from the point of view of your familiar. Going from human to tiger and back again was a bit odd.

But it did give him a moment to get an iron grip on his temper.

Focusing on his breathing was a trick he'd picked up to keep his mind clear and help him sort through his thoughts. It grounded him and kept him calm. Págos had learned to pick up on when he was doing this and often came to comfort him whenever he detected Danny's distress.

It was not often that the feline ghost was the source of this event, however.

It had happened only twice before, but this case was different. This time, Danny knew exactly what to do already.

He just didn't want to.

Following his train of thought, Págos tensed with surprise. _I-_

"It won't be a pleasant experience." Danny interrupted. "You know this forces you to experience every little detail. Physical or emotional."

Págos pushed himself out of Danny's reach and turned to stare him straight in the eye. _Absolutely not._

"It's necessary." He retorted flatly.

 _And it'll force_ _ **you**_ _to relive everything that happened all over again._ Págos hissed. The tiger took a slow breath and forced himself to calm. Danny blinked at the emotions sweeping over their link.

Gratefulness. Willingness. Compassion. Love. Concern. Determination. Trust.

"Thank you." Danny whispered.

Págos rumbled a mimic of a purr and pressed his broad head into Danny's hands.

 _One day._ He promised.

One day he would share his past with the other half of his soul.

 _One day soon._

* * *

 **Good chapter? Bad chapter? I'm not sure.**

 **Anyway, it's been forever. I'm sorry. Really, but my computer finally died and I lost** _ **so much work**_ **. I thought I had it all saved on to this USB that I actually** _ **didn't**_ **have it saved on and... well, it was just hard to get back into writing. I hope this chapter makes up for some of the time and that it was enjoyable. I hinted at a few things here, but not much happened besides that. Págos and Danny had a heart to heart, and the Titans' suspicions/concerns are confirmed.**

 **The question now is: what exactly is happening to Danny, and what is he still running from?**

 **Unfortunately, one of my biggest pet peeves with most crossovers like this one is how quickly they reveal this information, so it's going to take a while! Danny's going to learn to trust the Titans bit by bit. And bit by bit, everything he's stacked so carefully is going to come tumbling down. How long do you think he can hold on to his secrets?**

 **I dunno… those Titans are** _ **pre-tty**_ **smart.**


	8. I will update

All right.

Everyone breathe, sit down, and buckle up.

I've got a lot of explaining to do and I know it.

I'm going to be extremely blunt: less than a year ago, I wanted to die.

Yes, I was suicidal. I was Depressed. I hated my life and hated myself for hating my life.

It was entirely all-consuming, and it eventually ripped apart the only joy I had left in life: writing.

Okay, blunt part over.

I'm really sorry I haven't been updating. I realize that I've been skittish, never quite finished a story, disappeared for months at a time, and that it probably seems like I'd quit altogether. I swear to you, hear and now, I haven't. For some time now, I've wondered if I should just delete my account and start over. It seemed like the only thing that would work.

But, then, I realized something.

I was tired of starting over. Of quitting. I've spent the last five years trapped in my own personalized Hell while I struggled with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) and suicidal thoughts. I thought I was dramatic and needed to get myself together. I put myself down and told myself other people had it worse. I lived in complete and utter denial for a few years. I wrote and read like a madman; trying to escape reality.

Then I finally lost. I broke down under the weight of trying to hold myself together and called my sister. I told her how I felt, she spoke to my family for me, and we spent the next half a year tip-toeing around trying to find a way to help me.

My gynecologist put me on some mild medicine to help with my mood swing, and we all hoped that I would be fine with that. That it was just my hormones wreaking havoc on me.

A few months later, I dropped out of my first semester of college without a word and just about shut down. I worked on autopilot and was absolutely miserable. I _wanted_ to write. I wanted so desperately to fall back into the worlds I'd created. I felt like I was letting all of you down by not updating.

Eventually, I lost the will to care.

My wonderful mother saw through every fake "I'm okay" and set up at appointment with a psychologist in January of 2017.

I kid you not when I say my psychologist actually turned to me and said, "You know… most people come in earlier than this. Like… a _lot_ earlier."

It took her all of four seconds to diagnose me with MDD and up my medication dosage.

A couple weeks later, I had a rather stunning revelation.

I was _happy_.

I was driving back home, singing terribly to my favorite song in the car, and utterly happy. There was no hint of negativity that dragged it down. For the first time in _years_ I was truly, truly happy. In fact, it had been so long that I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself. None whatsoever.

I wanted to try getting back into writing.

On February 21, Billy Joe, my cat who has been with me for as long as I can remember, passed away.

He was old, at 13 years, and sick with what the vet and I both guessed was Feline Kidney Disease, which was untreatable.

He hadn't eaten anything in three days, hadn't gone to the bathroom, and was barely drinking any water. He was also going hypothermic. The vet offered a series of fluids and pills. It would keep him alive for a while longer.

I couldn't do that to him. I loved him too much.

I knew it was time.

I _knew_.

So, I did the hardest thing I have ever done in my life… I let him go.

It's July, I just turned 19, I'm still trying to figure this thing called growing up out, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with my life.

But. I want to write.

I swear to all of you, I am trying my hardest to get back into it. I realize it's already been far too long, but please be patient with me a bit longer. I'm trying and I swear- to you and to myself- that I _will_ get there.

Thank you all. For all of you reviews, favorites, comments, and especially your loyalty.

Your support means more to me than I could ever express in words.


	9. Update 2

Hey guys! Wow, it has been a really, really long time. Hasn't it? I can't thank you enough for your patience with me. All of your support has been wonderful. I have received so many reviews promising nothing but love and support. It's one of those things that really restores your faith in humanity, you know?

Anyway, that's not quite what your hear for; is it? No, you guys want stories! Well, I'm hear to deliver. Now, I'm sorry to disappoint you with the news that this is not another chapter, but there is one coming up really soon!

So, the news is: I have two stories I'm working on. _Breath of Life_ and _Sprint with the Stars_. Both of these stories are going to be updated every month on the 20th starting this month! So, twelve more days and you'll have another chapter of the both. As far as my other two, more popular, stories go: _Relapse_ and _Blood Stains-_ I am working on them. _Relapse_ is a story I've struggled with. I started it pretty early on in my online writing "career" and had some trouble continuing it as I got better at writing and began expanding to different fandoms. I've recently had a spark for it, however, and I have a plan for it once again. I will be releasing the full, completed story all at once under a different title as soon as I finish it. _Blood Stains_ is in a very weird spot. I have some ideas for it and scenes I want to write, but I'm not quite sure how to really start the next chapter. It's just... kind of there. I think I'm getting close though, so hopefully that will have an update soon. As for _Hidden Scars_ , wow... it has been a really, really, really long time since that one has been updated. BUT; I finally have another one-shot in mind and yes, it's the sequel you've all been clamoring for. _How to Save Your Future_ is plodding along. Why is it taking so long? Because I'm including the movies _and the TV show_. All of it. And it takes a realllllly long time to make transcripts from scratch. So, I'm sorry it's been so long, but that story still has a ways to go.

So, in short: _Breath of Life_ and _Sprint with the Stars_ will be receiving updates every 20th. _Blood Stains_ is in a really weird place. _Relapse_ and _How to Save Your Future_ are... getting there. _Hidden Scars_ will see a new one-shot/sequel soon.

I really hope what I've got planned lives up to the wait. Once again, thank you all so much for sticking with me.

See you all soon,

Wolf

BTW; _Breath of Life_ is being redone FROM SCRATCH. The _original chapters are no longer valid. They are not to be considered this fanfic's canon and will be removed/replaced shortly._


End file.
